*     APR    9    1904      •! 


Division  _0^  2~-\e^ 
Section    .  IB  ^S^  o 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


BOOKS    BY  WILLIAM   E.   BARTON,  D.D. 


^ESUS  OF  NAZARETH 

The  Story  of  His  Life  and  the  Scenes  of  His  Ministry,  with  a  chapter  on  The  Christ  of  Art. 
8vo,  with  300  illustrations.      Postpaid,  $i.io. 

THE  OLD  WORLD  IN  THE  NEW  CENTURY 

8vo,  with  240  illustrations.      Postpaid,  $z.So. 

THE  PSALMS  AND  THEIR  STORY 

A  Study  of  the  Psalms  in  their  Historic   Relations.      Two  volumes,  gilt  top,  in  box,  special 
price,  51.50  net.      Postpaid,  §1.66. 

A  HERO  IN   HOMESPUN 

A  Tale  of  the  Loyal  South.      Cloth,  illustrated  by  Dan  Beard,  $1.50;  without  illustrations, 
cloth,  Si. 00;  paper,  50  cents. 

PINE  KNOT 

A  Story  of  Kentucky  Life.      Cloth,  illustrated  by  F.  T.  Merrill,  $1.50 

THE  PRAIRIE  SCHOONER 

A  Story  of  the  Black  Hawk  War.      Cloth,  illustrated  by  H.  Burgess,  51.50. 

WHEN  BOSTON  BRAVED  THE  KING 

A    Story   of  the   Famous  pre-Revolutionary  Tea  Party.       Cloth,   illustrated  by  Frank  O. 
Small,  51 -SO- 

THE  STORY  OF  A  PUMPKIN  PIE 

Illustrated  with  21  full-page  drawings  by  A.  M.  Willard.      Postpaid,  60  cents. 

SIM    GALLOWAY'S    DAUGHTER-IN-LAW    AND    THE    TRUTH 
ABOUT  THE  TROUBLE  AT  ROUNDSTONE. 

Two  Stories  of  Southern  Life.       Cloth,  illustrated  by  H.  P.  Barnes.       Postpaid,   40  cents 
each. 

CONSOL.4TION 

A  Little  Book  of  Comfort.      Postpaid,  35   cents. 

FAITH  AS  RELATED  TO  HEALTH 

Cloth.      Postpaid,  35  cents. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  PERFECTION 

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I  GO  A  FISHING 

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AN  ELEMENTARY  CATECHISM 

Paper,  48  pp.      Single  Copy,  5  centsj  5i.oo  for  25;  53-50  per  100. 

OLD  PLANTATION  HYMNS 

With  Historical  and  Descriptive   Notes.      Paper,  25  cents. 


THE    ABOVE    ARE    SOLD     BY 

THE  PILGRIM  PRESS 

14  Beacon  Street,  BOSTON  175  Wabash  Avenue,  CHICAGO 


JESUS   OF   NAZARETH 


THE  STORY  OF  HIS  LIFE 

AND 

THE  SCENES  OF  HIS  MINISTRY 


WITH  A  CHAPTER  ON 


THE    CHRIST    OF    ART 


By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON,  D.  D. 


author  of    the  old  worlu  in  the  new  century;      the  psalms  and  their 

story;"  "faith  as  related  to  health;"  "consolation;" 

"a   hero  in   homespun;"  etc. 


with  maps  by  general  henry  b.  carrington,  u.  s.  a. 


WITH  THREE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  ILLUSTRATIONS 


BOSTON 

KKwvoK..  ^be  ipil^rlm  ipreee  Chicago 

1903 


Copyright,    1903 
By  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON 


The  Henneberry  Press 

552-556  Wabash   Ave. 

Chicago 


THE    HALF-TONE    CUTS,    WITH     \    FEW    F.XCEPTIONS, 
WERE    MADE    DY 
THE    BUCHER    ENGRAVING    COMPANY, 
COLUMBUS,    OHIO 


TO    THE    CHURCH    AND    CONGREGATION 

TO    WHICH    I    MINISTER 

AND   TO   THOSE   I    HAVE   SERVED    IN    FORMER   YEARS 

THIS    BOOK    IS    DEDICATED 


-J^ 


DmontfoT  BtW  E  BatUn-l 
tlFE^CHHIST 


OUTLINE    MAP    OF    PALESTINE 
BY    GENERAL    HENKY    B.    CARKINGTON,    U.    S.    A. 


PREFACE 


Soon  after  my  return  from  Palestine  in  1902,  and  the  publication  of 
mj'  book  of  travel,  "The  Old  World  in  the  New  Century,"  I  began  the 
preparation  of  what  I  intended  should  be  a  small  book  on  "The  Places 
Where  Jesus  Lived  and  Worked."  Books  have  a  habit  of  outgrowing 
the  first  intent  of  their  authors.  The  little  book  grew  until  it  had  become 
a  Life  of  Christ.  The  undertaking  from  which  I  might  have  shrunk  at 
the  outset  came  about  naturall)^  and  its  accomplishment  has  been  a  glad, 
though  not  an  easy  task. 

There  are  many  Lives  of  Christ,  and  good  ones.  The  publication  of 
the  works  of  Strauss  and  Renan,  about  forty  years  ago,  was  followed  by 
many  controversial  volumes,  directly  or  indirectly  in  reply.  These  have 
still  great  value,  though  most  of  them  were  written  a  generation  ago.  The 
present  book  is  written,  not  to  maintain  a  theory,  but  to  make  the  Life  of 
Jesus  among  men  seem  real.  It  does  not  attempt  to  displace  any  of  the 
great  works  now  known  and  loved,  or  even  to  invite  comparison  with 
them,  but  only  to  find  and  fill  its  own  place  as  a  reverent  and  sincere 
attempt  to  interpret  again  the  one  inexhaustible  Life. 

The  original  purpose  of  describing  the  places  associated  with  the  min- 
istry of  Jesus  has  not  been  forgotten,  and  some  special  attention  has  been 
given  to  their  description,  together  with  photographs  made  on  the  ground, 
many  of  them  by  the  author  himself,  or  his  companions  in  travel.  The 
camera  has  invaded  Palestine  since  the  well-known  Lives  of  Christ  were 
written;  and  it  is  possible  to  show  the  appearance  of  the  scenes  of  the 
ministry  of  Jesus  in  a  manner  until  recently  impossible.  Moreover,  the  art 
of  half-tone  illustration,  which  was  unknown  when  m.ost  of  the  standard 
Lives  of  Christ  were  published,  now  makes  the  wealth  of  the  greatest 
galleries  in  the  world  available  for  a  work  like  this.  This  single  fact  is  a 
sufficient  justification  for  a  new  Life  of  Christ. 

In  the  matter  of  the  illustrations  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  two  friends 
and  former  parishioners.  M?jor  W.  H.  Williams,  Special  Agent  of  the 
United  States  Treasury  Department  for  Europe,  has  been  unremitting  in 
his  labor  to  secure  for  me  in  Paris  and  other  cities  the  latest  and  most 
notable  of  recent  paintings.  Through  him  I  have  piocured  the  pictures 
of  that  eccentric  genius,  Jean  Beraud,  whom  he  visited  on  my  behalf, 
and  other  paintings  hitherto  unpublished  in  America.  The  other  friend. 
Mr.  Frank  Wood,  of  Boston,  placed  at  my  disposal  his  large  collection 
of  rare  original  prints.  His  Rembrandt  etchings  and  Durer  wood  cuts 
enrich  the  volume,  with  Claude  Mellan's  wonderful  one-line  portrait  of 
Christ  and  other  original  and  yet  more  valuable  prints.  Among  the  latter 
are  the  two  little  engravings  of  Finiguerra,  the  very  oldest  prints  in  the 
world.  These  superlatively  rare  originals,  made  in  1452.  are  reproduced 
in  exact  size  expressly  for  this  book.  Two  great  paintings  from  Mr. 
Wood's  collection,  the  wonderful  head  of  Christ  which  forms  the  frontis- 
piece for  the  chapter  on  "Jesus  as  Art  Reveals  Him"  and  the  beautiful 
Madonna  by  Correggio,  were  photographed  for  the  first  time  for  this 
volume  bv  Mr.  Baldwin  Coolidge,  photographer  for  the  Museum  of  Fine 
Arts  in  Boston,  and  are  copyrighted  by  Mr.  Wood. 


PRE FACE 

Mr.  FrpiiU  T.  Merrill,  of  Boston,  and  Mr.  Corwin  Knapp  Linson,  of 
New  York,  ami  Miss  Annie  Kirkpatrick,  of  Dundee.  Scotland,  have  given 
me  valued  assistance. 

Mr.  Joiin  Powell  Lcno.x,  of  Oak  Park,  whose  collection  of  Christ 
pictures  einljraces  more  than  three  thousand,  and  is  said  to  be  the  best 
in  America,  and  unsurpassed  abroad,  has  contributed  a  number  of  valuable 
illustrations. 

I  am  indebted  to  Miss  Estelle  M.  Hurll.  not  only  for  information 
eathcred  from  her  books,  but  especially  for  personal  suggestions  and 
assistance.  Her  book,  '"The  Life  of  Our  Lord  in  Art,"  is  one  which  every 
minister  may  well  aspire  to  own. 

Beside  the  contributions  of  these  and  other  friends,  appear  a  large 
number  of  photographs  which  I  procured  in  Jerusalem,  Cairo.  Florence, 
Paris  and  London,  and  a  number  imported  since,  including  several  from 
the  Hermitage  collection  in  St.  Petersburg.  To  these  I  have  added  some 
interesting  e.xamples  of  the  work  of  our  American  ?rtists. 

The  maps  in  this  book  were  made  for  it  by  General  Henry  B.  Car- 
rington  of  the  U.  S.  Regular  Army,  retired.  General  Carrington's  maps 
in  his  "Battles  of  the  Revolution"  are  standard.  He  has  long  been 
engaged  on  a  work  on  "The  Battles  of  the  Bible."  and  has  brought  to 
these  maps  the  results  of  his  long  Bible  study,  and  has  used  the  latest 
surveys.  His  effort  has  been  to  eliminate  every  unnecessary  detail,  and 
present  accurately  and  clearly  the  places  associated  with  the  ministry  of 
Jesus. 

It  is  no  lack  of  willingress  to  acknowledge  my  obligations  that 
restrains  me  from  giving  a  list  of  the  books  to  which  I  am  indebted.  At 
first  the  manuscript  bristled  with  foot-notes,  but  I  have  cut  them  all  out. 
In  a  ministry  of  nineteen  years  I  have  been  attempting  every  week  to 
tell  the  story  of  Jesus,  gathering  material  from  all  the  books  I  could  find; 
in  bringing  the  results  of  this  study  together  in  a  volume  I  have  used 
comparatively  few  books.  It  would  be  easy  to  give  the  list  of  the  latter, 
but  the  list  would  be  meager  and  incomplete.  I  have  kept  at  hand  and 
have  used  all  the  best  known  Lives  of  Christ  in  English;  but  I  mc::tlon 
only  two — Edersheim,  to  whom  I  have  referred  most  frequently  for  his 
knowledge  of  Jewish  customs,  and  Andrews,  who.^e  chronology  I  have 
followed  throughout.  In  a  few  places  my  own  judgment  would  have 
been  dififerent,  but  I  have  thought  it  better  to  follow  a  clear  and  consistent 
and  familiar  outline  rather  than  to  burden  a  work  of  this  character  with 
discussions  of  chronology. 

This  book  has  been  a  growth.  T  had  almost  completed  it  before  I 
realized  that  I  had  begun  it.  Every  minister,  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
is  making,  week  by  week,  a  Life  of  Christ.  I  found  when  I  came  to  exam- 
ine my  accumulated  material  that  there  was  not  an  incident  or  discourse 
of  Jesus  on  which  I  had  not  at  some  time  preached.  It  was  not  difiRcult 
to  make  a  large  volume  where  a  small  one  had  been  intended:  the  diffi- 
culty was  to  make  one  volume  and  not  two.  Hastening  to  finish  the  first 
draft  before  the  summer  vacation,  I  wrote  the  last  words  on  the  eve  of 
my  birthday,  June  28.  I  have  given  the  summer  to  its  revision,  and  send 
it  forth  as  an  inadequate  but  sincere  tribute  to  the  Life  of  Him  in  whose 
service  I  hope  to  spend  the  years  of  my  life. 


/&:_  5:  ^.*,2S:r 


The  Study  of  the  First  Church, 
Oak  Park,  Illinois,  October  6,  igoj. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   I 
THE  SONG  AND   THE   STAR 
Bethlehem,  December,  B.  C.  5 
Modern    Bethlehem — The    Road    from    Jerusalem    to    Bethlehem — Rachel's 
Tomb — David's    Well — A    Palestine    Inn — The    Young    Carpenter    and 
His    Bride— Are   We    Sure   of  the   Place   of   Jesus'    Birth— The    Church 
of   the    Virgin.    Oldest    in    the    World — The    Grotto    of   the    Nativit}^ — 
Jerome   and   His   Bible   Translations — Modern    Bethlehem   the    Field   of 
the    Shepherds — The    Birth    of   Christ    in    Sono- — Kepler's    Computation 
of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem — The   King  of  the  Jews — The  Two  Embas- 
sies to  the  Cradle  of  Christ 25 

CHAPTER  n 

THE  HOLY  CHILD 

The    Bible   and    Childhood — Confucius   Versus    Christianity — A    Little    Child 

Shall   Lead — The  presentation  in  the   Temple — Simeon  and  Anna — The 

Nature  of  Christ.  Truly  Divine  and  Truly  Human — The  House  of  the 

Hercds — The  Flight  Into  Egypt — The  Sphinx  and  the  Saviour 45 

CHAPTER     III 
THE   HOUSE  OF   MARY  AND  THE  SHOP   OF  JOSEPH 
May,  B.  C.  4  to  April.  A.  D.  8 
Good  Things  out  of  Nazareth — The  Road  from  the  Sea  Coast — The  Mod- 
ern  Village — The    Fountain   of  the    Virgin — Modern    Maidens    of   Naz- 
areth— A     Nazareth     Housekeeper — A      Village      Artisan — Was    Joseph 
Older   Than   Mary — Who   were   the   Lord's   Brethren — The    Home   of  a 
Madonna — Influence  of  the  Home  and  Shop  on  the  Life  of  Jesus.... 56 

CHAPTER    IV 
THE  LAD  IN  THE  TEMPLE 
April  8-15,  A.  D.  8 
Travel   in   Palestine — El-Bireh.   Traditional   Place  of  Discovery  of  Loss   of 
the    Boy  Jesus — The    Roman    Roads — Country    Byways — Hospitality    in 
the   Holy   Land— Inns  and   Camps — Apocryphal    Gospels — Jesus   in   the 
Temple — Influence  of  This  Visit  Upon  His  Life 71 

CHAPTER    V 

THE   BAPTISM   OF  JESUS 

River  Jordan,  January,  A.    D.   27 

John    the    Baptist— Political    and    Religious    Situation— Place    of   Baptism— 

The    River  Jordan — Reasons   for  Jesus'    Baptism — The    Descent   of   the 

Spirit — An  Epoch  in  the  Life  of  Jesus 81 

CHAPTER    VI 
THE    TEMPTATION    OF   JESUS 
January   to    February,    A.    D.    27 
The  Wilderness  of  Judjea— The  Temptation  in  Art— Realitv  of  the  Tempta- 
tion   in    Art— A    Reality    of    the    Temptation— Three  "  Temptations    or 
Four — Ambition  in  the  Guise  of  Patriotism — Return  Among  Men... 90 


,o  CONTEXTS 

CHAPTER    VII 

THE  FIRST  DISCIPLES 

February.  A.  D.  27 

The    First    Followers    of   Christ — Fishermen    on    a    Vacation — An    Evening 

with  Jesus— The  First  Followers  Seeking  Others loi 

CHAPTER    VIII 

THE   MARRIAGE  AT   CANA 

March.   A.   D.   27 

The   Modern   Cana— An   Oriental   Wedding— Jesus   No   Ascetic— A   Miracle 

to  Add  to   Human  Joy 105 

CHAPTER     IX 
THE  WHIP  OF  SMALL   CORDS 
April    11-17.    A.  D.    27 
(John    2:  12-25;   3  '■  1-22) 
Jesus   and    His    Family   Visit    Capernaum — The    First    Passover   in    Christ's 
Ministry — The  Temple   m  the  Time   of  Jesus — The  Sale  of  Doves  and 
Oxen — The   High   Priest  as  a   Dealer  in  Pigeons — The   First   Cleansing 
of  the  Temple — The  Visit  of  Nicodemus — The  Spirituality  of  Man — The 
Need  of  Regeneration 1 1 1 

CHAPTER     X 
JESUS   AT  JACOB'S   WELL 
December,  A.  D.  27 
(John    4 :  1-26) 
Modern  Shcchcm — Origin  of  the  Samaritans — The  Samaritan  Pentateuch — 
Modern    Sychar — Jacob's    Well — The    Revelation   to   the    Woman — The 
First    Christian     Communitv — The    Lord's     Need,    and     the    Needs    of 
Men 120 

CHAPTER    XI 

HE  CAME  TO  HIS  OWN 

Nazareth,   April.    A.    D.   28 

The  Return  of  Jesus  to  His  Boyhood  Home — The  Change  Noticed  in  Him 

by    His    Neighbors — The    Service    in   the    Synagogue — The    Surprise    of 

Jesus — His   Rejection   by  His  Townspeople 127 

CHAPTER  XII 
THE  HEALING  CHRIST 
The  Only  Miracle  of  Healing  Recorded  of  Christ's  First  Year's  Ministry — 
The  Reluctance  of  Jesus  to  Begin  a  Career  as  a  Healer — A  Discussion 
of  Miracles  as  a  Foundation  of  Faith — Religion  for  the  Soul  More 
Than  for  the  Body — Some  Examples  of  Christ's  Miracles — The  Leper 
— The  Paralytic — The  Centurian's  Servant — The  Daughter  of  Jairus — 
The  Blind  Men — The  Failure  of  the  Supernatural  as  a  Means  of  Con- 
version— Faith    Healing   To-day 135 

CHAPTER  XIII 
JESUS  AND  THE  SABBATH 
Close  of  the  First  Year's  Mini«trv — The  Second  Passover — The  Healing 
at  the  Pool  of  Bethesda — The  Legend  of  the  Angel — How  Errors 
have  Crept  into  the  Text,  j.nd  How  They  Are  Sometimes  Corrected — 
The  Occasions  on  which  Jesus  Disregarded  the  Jewish  Traditions  of 
the  Sabbath — Various  Works  of  Healing — Rubbing  out  the  Grain — 
The  Ground  of  Jesus'  Defense — The  World's  Need  of  a  Sabbath — The 
Principle  of  Jesus  Applied  to  Modern   Life I55 


CONTENTS  II 

CHAPTER   XIV 
BESIDE  THE   SEA   OF   GALILEE 
Capernaum,  Summer,  A.  D.  28 
Jesus  at  Capernaum— Events  which  Happened  There— Site  of  the   Place- 
Visit    to    Tell    Hum    and    Khan    Minyeh— Chorazin— Bethsaida— Mag- 
flala— Tiberias— The   Call  of  the  Disciples— The   Beauty  of  the   Sea  of 
Galilee 163 

CHAPTER    XV 

THE    ORDINATION    OF    THE    TV/ELVE 

Horns  of  Hattin,  Midsummer,  A.  D.  28 

Jesus  on  the  Mountain  in  Prayer— Preaching  from  Peter's  Boat— The  Call 

of  the  Disciples,  and  Their  Character— A  Tribute  to  Their  Fidelity.  .176 

CHAPTER    XVI 
THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT 
Horns  of  Hattin,  Midsummer,  A.  D.  28 
The    Mountains   of   Scripture— Sinai   and    Hattin;     the    Decalogue   and   the 
Beatitudes— The    Tradition    of  the    Crusaders,    and   Their    Battle — The 
Sermon   and    Its    Message— Fulfilling   the    Law   and    More — The    Work 
of  Jesus  Not  Primarily   Restorative,  but   Constructive 181 

CHAPTER    XVII 
THE  DOUBT  OF  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST 
Machserus,  Summer  and  Autumn,  A.  D.  28 
The   Imprisonment  of  Tohn— Tesus  Feasting  while  John   Suffered— Wisdom 
Justified  of  Her  Children— The   New   Better  than  the   Old— A  Misused 
Text  of  Scripture— "The  Old  Time  Religion"— The  Heroism  of  John- 
Greatest  of  the  Old,  but  Least  in  the  New 190 

CHAPTER    XVIII 
THE   WOMEN    FRIENDS   OF  JESUS 
Summer  and  Autumn,  A.  D.  28 
A   New   Group   of   Followers   of  Jesus — Mary   of   Magdala   and   Her    Com- 
panions— A  Slandered  Woman — The  Mother  of  Jesus  and  Her  Attempt 
to    Restrain    Her   Son — Mary   and    M?rtha — The    Woman   at   the    Phar- 
isee's Feast — The  Woman  with  the  Issue  of  Blood — The   Remedies  of 
Old    World    Physicians — The    Sufferings    of    Womankind — The    Widow 
of   Nain — Oriental    Funerals — Graves   that   Now   Appear   about    Nain — 
The  Raising  of  the  Widow's  Son 204 

CHAPTER    XIX 
THE  GREAT  TEACHER  AND  HIS  PUPILS 
Autumn,  A.  D.  28 
A   Change   in  the   Method  of  Jesus'    Instruction — The   Material   of   Christ's 
Parables;    Illustrations  from  Common  Life — The  Eight  Parables  which 
Introduced  the   New  Method — The   Region   of  Decapolis — The   Stilling 
of   the   Tempest — Swine   in    Galilee — The    Healing   of   the    Demoniac — 
The    Request     to     Depart — The    Third     Preaching    Tour — Return     to 
Nazareth — Half-hearted      Disciples — Imprisonment      and      Murder      of 
John — The     Mission     of      the     Twelve — Our     Debt     to     Them — Their 
Reports   of   the   Teachings   of  Jesus — Have   We   Any   Words   of  Jesus 
Aside  from  Those  in  the   Gospels? 222 


12  CONTEXTS 

chapti:r   XX 

THE  BOY  WITH  THE  BASKET 
Bcthsaida  Julias,  April,  A.  D.  29 
The    Two    Bethsaidas — The    Multitude     on    the    Way    to     Jerusalem — The 
Loaves   and    the    Fishes — The     Purchasing     Power   of     Our   All — One 
Basket   and    Twelve — Frat^nicnts 234 

CHAPTER    XXI 
THE  CRISIS  OF  THE  CHRIST 
Capernaum,  April,  A.  D.  29 
Close  of  the  Second  Year  of  Christ's  ^Ministry — The   Crisis — The  Tempta- 
tion of  the   Kingdom   Renewed — The   Mischief  of   Miracles — The   Ser- 
mon that   Made    Enemies — Cold    Hospitality   at  a   Pharisee's    House — 
How  Christ   Met   His   Crisis 250 

CHAPTER    XXII 
THE  UNCONCEALABLE  CHRIST 
Phoenicia,  Summer,  A.  D.  29 
The   Retirement  of  Jesus  to  the  Region  of  Tyre  and  Sidon — The   Gentile 
Woman's    Faith — Jesus    in    Decapolis — The    Healing    of   the    Deaf    and 
Blind — The    Feeding    of    the    Four    Thousand — The    Craving    for    the 
Miraculous — The    Programme    of    Jesus — Denunciation    of    the    Phar- 
isees— The   Christ  Who   Could   Not   Be   Hid 257 

CHAPTER    XXIII 
THE  FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES 
Jerusalem,  October  14-18,  A.  D.  29 
The   IMcddlesome   Brothers  of  Jesus — Gossip  at  the   Feast — Appearance   of 
Jesus   at   the   Temple — The   Great   Day   of   the    Feast — The    Answer   of 
the    Ofificers :     "Never    Man    Spake    Like    This    Man" — The    Protest    of 
Nicodcmus — The    Adulteress — The    Bondage    of    Abraham's     Seed — A 
Division  Among  the   People 264 

CHAPTER   XXIV 
THE  VISION  OF  THOSE  WHO  WAKE 
Mt.  Hermon,  October,  A.  D.  29 
The    Preparation    for   the   Tragedy — The    Question    of   Jesus — The   Answer 
of   Peter — Announcements   of   the    Death    of   Christ — Peter    Rebuked — 
Bearing   the    Cross    with   Jesus — The    Significance    of   the    Transfigura- 
tion— A  Sabbath   Evening  on  the  Mountain — Hermon,   and  not  Tabor, 
the    Probable   Site — The   Wonderful    Shadow   of   Snow-Clad   Hermon — 
The   Glory   Beheld  by  the   Disciples — The   Three   Groups   in   Raphael's- 
Picture ' 273 

CHAPTER    XXV 
THE   DIVINE   TAX-PAYER 
Capernaum,   Autumn,   A.   D.   29 
The    Only    Miracle    Wrought    for   the    Personal    Advantage   of  Jesus — His 
Waning    Popularity — The    Taxes    of    Jesus    in    Arrears — Christ's    Dis- 
regard of  Formal  Law — The  Miracle  that  Produced  a   Heathen  Coin — 
One  Coin  for  the  Lord  and  His  Disciple 2(S2 


CONTENTS 


13 


CHAPTER    XXVI 
JESUS  AND  THE  CHILDREN 

Three  Incidents  in  the  Life  of  Jesus — The  Dispute  of  the  Disciples — The 
Freedom  of  the  Child  in  the  House  of  Christ — "Of  Such  Is  the  King- 
dom"— Offending  One  of  These  Little  Ones — Moral  Surgery — Children 
of    God 2S8 

CHAPTER    XXVII 
FELLOWSHIP   AND    FORGIVENESS 
Capernaum,    Autumn,    A.    D.   29 
Christ's    Only    References    to   the    Church — The    Ground    of    Forgiveness — 
Forgive  and   Forget — Moral  Surgery  Again — Hells,   Present,   Past  and 
Future — The   Gospel   Not  to   Amputate,   but  to   Save— The   Worm  and 
the  Fire — The  Utilization  of  the  Waste 295 

CHAPTER    XXVIIi 
JESUS  AND  THE  WORLD  AT  LARGE 
Percea,   November,   A.   D.   29 
Special    Features    of    Luke's    Gospel — The    Mission    01    the    Seventy — The 
Inhospitable    Samaritans — The    Doom    of    Capernaum    and    the    Cities 
Near  the  Lake — The  Ten  Lepers — Intimations  of  the  Mission  of  Jesus 
to    the    Outer    World 301 

CHAPTER     XXIX 

THE  DEMOCRACY  OF  CHRIST'S  DOCTRINE  OF  PRAYER 

Pergea,  November  and  December,  A.  D.  29 

The  Growing  Sternness  of  the  Teaching  of  Christ — The  Galilseans  Slain  at 

the  Feast — The  Eighteen  on  Whom  the  Tower  of  Siloam  Fell — Christ's 

Doctrine  of  Prayer 308 

CHAPTER     XXX  ■  , 
UNTIL    HE   FIND    IT 
Persea,  Winter,  A.  D.  29-30 
Are   There    Few   that   Be   Saved? — The   Strait   Gate— Counting  the    Cost — 
Three    Precious    Parables,    the   Lost   Sheep,    Coin   and   Son — The   The- 
ology of  Christ 317 

CHAPTER    XXXI 
THE  GOOD   SHEPHERD 
Jerusalem,   December  20-27,  A.  D.  29 
The   Feast   of   Dedication — Solomon's   Porch — The   Demand   of  the   Jews — 
The  Use  of  Stones  when   Logic  Fails— The   Healing  of  the  Man   Born 
Blind— The  Pool  of  Siloam— The  Sabbath  Question  Again— Light  and 
Darkness— The    Good   Shepherd— The    Wide,    Inclusive    Fold 329 

CHAPTER    XXXII 

THE  RAISING  OF  LAZARUS 

Bethany,  January,  A.    D.  30 

Beautiful  Bethany— Primitive  Industry— The  Family  of  Lazarus— The  Faith 

of  Martha— The  Tomb  of  Lazarus  Now  Shown— The  Silent  Testimony 

of  Him  Who  Had  Been   Dead 338 


14  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XXXIII 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN 
Per.-ea.  Winter,  A.  D.  29-30 
The  Villaee  of  Ephraim— The  Last  Journey  to  Jerusalem— Various  Ques- 
tions   Asked    of     Jesus — Divorce — Blessing     the     Children — The     Rich 
Young  Ruler — An  Ambitious  Mother — The  Chief  Places  in  the   King- 
dom  345 

CHAPTER    XXXIV 

BARTIMAEUS    AND    ZACCHAEUS 

Jericho,  March,  A.  D.  30 

Modern  Jericho— The  Visit   of  Jesus— The   Blind   Man   by  the   Way— The 

Man  in  the  Tree — Zacchreus.  the  Extortioner,  and  the  Liberal  Man.. 352 

CHAPTER    XXXV 

THE  ALABASTER  BOX 

Bethany,   April   i,  A.   D.   30 

The  Ascent  from  Jericho  to  Jerusalem — The  Feast  at  Bethany — The  Value 

of    Mary's    Gift — The    Murmuring   of   the    Disciples — The    Appreciation 

of  Jesus 357 

CHAPTER     XXXVI 

AMID  PALM  BRANCHES 

Jerusalem,  Sunday,  April  2,  A.  D.  30 

The  Prophecy  of  Zechariah — The  Triumphal  Entrj'— The  New  Attitude  of 

Christ — The  Golden  Gate — The  Procession  Through  the  Centuries.  .362 

CHAPTER    XXXVII 

JESUS  IN  THE  TEMPLE 

Jerusalem.   Monday,  April  3,  A.   D.  30 

The    Early   Walk    to   Jerusalem — The     Barren    Fig-Tree — The     Power    of 

Prayer — Forgiveness  as  a   Condition   of  Prayer — The   Cleansmg  of  the 

Temple — The   Praises   of  the   Children 373 

CHAPTER    XXXVIII 
JESUS   IN   CONTROVERSY 
Tuesday,  April  4,  A.  D.  30 
The   Day  of  Debate — Christ's  Authority   Challenged — Insidious   Questions, 
Political,  Theological  and   Legal — Jesus   Rejected  by  His   Nation — The 
Widow's  ]\Iite — The  Gentiles  Who  Desired  to  See  Jesus — The  Prophecy 
of    the    Destruction    of    the    Temple — The    Discourse    on    Olivet — The 
Talents,  the  Ten  Virgins,  and  the  Judgment  Scene 378 

CHAPTER    XXXIX 

JESUS  AMONG  HIS  FRIENDS 
Wednesday  and  Thursday,  April  5  and  6,  A.  D.  30 
The  Missing  Day,  Wednesday — Can  Wc  Supply  It? — Preparation  for  the 
Passover — The  Upper  Room — A  Recent  Communion  Service  in  Jerusa- 
lem— The  New  Commandment — The  Lord's  Supper — "Show  Us  the 
Father" — One  Universe  or  Two? — The  Gift  of  the  Spirit — Intel  preting 
Things   as   They   Come 387 


CONTENTS  15 

CHAPTER    XL 
JESUS  AMONG  HIS  ENEMIES 
Friday,  April  7,  A.  D.  30 
The  Garden  of  Gethsemane  as  It  Is  To-day — The  Drowsy  Disciples — The 
Seven  Trials  of  Jesus — The  Dilemma  of  Pilate — The  Man  of  Sorrows — 
The  Via  Dolorosa — Simon  the  Cyrenian — Mutual  Cross  Bearing — The 
Crucifixion — The  Seven  Words  from  the  Cross — "It  Is  Finished". .  .402 

CHAPTER    XLI 
EASTER 
Sunday,   April   9,    A.    D.   30 
The  Cross  Not  the  End — Easter  in  Nature  and  in   Religion— The  Surprise 
of   the    Disciples — The    Journey    of   the    Women — Reason    and    Faith — 
The   Empty  Tomb — The  Stone   Rolled  Away  from   Human   Grief — The 
Resurrection   of   Christianity 416 

CHAPTER     XLII 
THE  FORTY  DAYS  AND  THE  FUTURE 
April  9  to   May   18.   A.    D.  30 
The   Loneliness   of  the   Disciples   in  Jerusalem — Their   Return   to   Galilee — 
Their   Life    During   the    Forty    Days — Jesus   with   the    Disciples   at   the 
Sea — Loving    Christ     More    than   These — The     Last    Meeting   of    the 
Disciples     in    Jerusalem — The     Ascension — The     Triple     Rainbow     on 
Olivet — The  Promise  of  His  Presence 430 

PART  TI 
THE  CHRIST  OF  ART 

I.  Art  and  Literature. 

Are  Art  and  Literature  Parallel  in  Their  Development? — Mutual 
Limitations  and  Advantages— Wherein  Art  Has  Special  Liberty  and 
Power — The  Influence  of  Christ  upon  Architecture,  Sculpture,  Music, 
Poetry,  and  Painting — The  Revelation  of  the  Ideal  of  the  Painters — 
This  a  Popular  Ideal,  Both  a  Record  and  a  Contribution — The  Popu- 
larization of  Art — The  Chromo;  the  Half-Tone  Cut;  Three-Color- 
Photography — Who  Is  the  Christ  Whom  Art  Reveals  to  Its  Increased 
Constituency?    445 

II.  Early  Christian  Art. 

Discussions  in  the  Early  Church — Was  Jesus  Really  Beautiful? — The 
Fathers  Who  Denied  It — Have  We  Any  Pictures  Embodying  Their 
Idea  of  Christ? — Purpose  and  Character  of  the  Earliest  Christian  Art — 
The  Fish  and  Its  Alleged  Significance — Christ  as  Orpheus;  as  the 
Personification  of  Youth;  as  Isaac  or  Jonah — The  Lazarus  Pictures — 
The  Good  Shepherd — The  Lamb;  Its  Earlier  and  Later  Significance — 
Decree  of  the  Council  of  Constantinople — The  Thorn-Crowned  Christ, 
and    the    Christ    of   Judgment 456 

III.  Have  We  a  Likeness  of  Christ? 

The  Tradition  of  Abgarus — The  Portrait  Painted  by  Luke — Luke  and 
the  Madonna — Do  such  Portraits  Exist? — The  Various  Pictures  with 
Apostolic  Traditions  Attached — Two  Venerated  Pictures — The  Legend 
of  Veronica — The  Three  or  More  Napkins  which  Bear  Her  Name — 
The  Remarkable  Drawing  of  Claude  Mellan;  the  Strange  Picture  of 
Gabriel  Max — The  Investigations  of  Thomas  Heaphy  and  of  Sir  Wyke 
Bayliss — Some  of  Their  Copies  Reproduced — Two  Ancient  Descrip- 
tions of  Jesus;  that  of  Nicephorus,  and  the  Alleged  Letter  of 
Lentulus 465 


i6  CONTEXTS 

IV.  Mary  and  Her  Child. 

The  Beauty  of  the  Christian  'Madonna — Ancient  and  Modern 
Madonnas— The  Hitherto  Unpublished  Correggio— The  Beauty  of  the 
Cliildliood  of  Jesus  m  Art — The  Mexican  Madonna — A  Series  of  Paint- 
ings by  Murillo:  the  Type  Disclosed — Representations  of  the  Boy- 
hood of  Jesus— .'V    Xoble   Ideal 485 

V.  The  Carpenter  Who  Became  the  Christ. 

The  Inadequacy  of  the  Adult  Christ,  as  Artists  Paint  Him — Two 
Pictures  by  Holman  Hunt — Divinity  by  Subtraction — The  Christ  of 
Tissot — The  General  Type  in  Both  .Ancient  and  Modern  Art — The 
Frontispiece 501 

VI.  Past  and  Present. 

The  Development  and  Decline  of  Painting— The  Ages  when  Cathe- 
drals Were  Building  and  Painting  Made  no  Progress — The  Renais- 
sance— Giotto  and  His  School — Man  and  Nature — Durer,  Holbein,  and 
the  Artists  of  the  North — Rembrandt,  Rubens  and  Van  Dyck — Italian 
Artists;  Verrocchio,  Da  Vinci  and  Luini;  Fra  Angelico.  the  Lippis, 
Botticelli.  Titian  and  Raphael — The  First  Printing  from  Plates — The 
Priceless  Little  Prints  by  P'iniguerra — Our  Heritage  from  all  Past 
.Ages — The  Productions  of  Modern  Art — Two  Different  Kinds  of 
Realism — The  Realism  of  Earlier  Art  Compared 512 

VII.  The  Christ  of  To-Day. 

The  Painters  of  Single  Great  Pictures,  and  Those  of  Series  of  Paint- 
ings— The  Christ  of  the  Modern  Series — Dore.  Bida,  and  Overbeck — 
The  Christ  of  Hofmann — The  Head  that  Has  Supplanted  that  of  Guido 
Reni  in  Popular  Affection — Tissot's  Memorable  Work — The  Cumula- 
tive Christ;  the  Christ  of  Every  Normal  and  Justifiable  Relation — The 
Illustrations  of  Linson — Fritz  von  Uhde,  and  His  Democratic  Christ — 
L'Hermitte,  and  His  One  Great  Painting — Zlmmcrmann,  and  His 
Christ  of  the  People — The  Dramatic  Paintings  of  Jean  Beraud — Frank 
Beard.  His  Cartoons — A  Group  of  Recent  Paintings — The  Reverence 
of   this    Unconventional    Art 526 

VIII.  The  Christ  of  To-Morro\v. 

The  Lack  of  Idealism  in  Modern  Art — The  Opportunity  for  the 
Modern  Painter — The  Inexhaustible  Christ — Where  Modern  Art  Has 
Done  Its  Best — The  Good  Shepherd — Paintings  Not  Failures,  Though 
They  Do  Not  Satisfy — The  Value  of  the  Second  Commandment — A 
Meditation  on  a  Modern  Head  of  Christ — How  Should  We  Feel 
Toward  Such  a  Man  as  the  Artists  Show  to  Us? — The  Christ  of  Art 
an  Imperfect,  but  Helpful,  Revelation — The  Revelation  of  God  in  the 
Face    of    Christ 545 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Adoration  of  the  Magi  (J.  A. 
Holzer) Frontispiece. 

Map  of  Palestine  (Gen.  Henry  B. 

Carrington ) G 

The  Good  Shepherd  (Frederick 
Shields) 24 

The  Tomb  of  Rachel 26 

The  Arrival  at  Bethlehem  (Ol- 
iver L.  Merson,  l<s4(i— ) 27 

The  City  of  Bethlehem 28 

Madonna  of  the  Grand  Duke 
(Raphael,  1482-15-JO) 29 

The  Journey  of  the  Magi  (A.  W. 
Van  Deusen ) 30 

The  Star  of  Bethlehem  ( Schon- 
herr,  1824—) 31 

The  Church  of  the  Nativity  at 
Christmas 32 

The  Market  Place  in  Bethlehem.     34 

Workers  in  Mother  of  Pearl- 
Bethlehem  35 

A  Bethlehem  Family 36 

A  Pair  of  Bethlehem  Maidens. . .     37 

The  Vision  of  the  Shepherds 
(Plockhorst,  1825—) 38 

Supposed  Site  of  the  Manger.  .  .     39 

The  Arrival  of  the  Shepherds 
^LeRolle) 41 

Holy  Night  (Correggio,  1494- 
1534) 43 

The  Dream  of  Joseph  (Murillo, 
1617-1682) 46 

The  Immaculate  Conception  (Mu- 
rillo, 1617-1682) 47 

Madonna  and  Child  (W.  A.  Bou- 
gereau,  1825— ) 48 

Madonna    del    Pozzo    (Raphael, 

1482-1520) 49 

The  Visit  of  the  Shepherds  (Mu- 
rillo, 1617-1682)  50 


P.AGE 

The  Madonna  (Carlo  Dolci,  1616- 

1686) 51 

Resting  on  the  Way  to  Egypt 

(S.  Benz,  1-34—) 52 

Coptic  Church  in  Old  Cairo 53 

The  Repose  in  Egypt  (Van  Dyck, 

1599-1641) 54 

The  Repose  in  Egypt  (Oliver  L. 

Merson,  1846— ) 55 

A  Group  of  Nazareth  Maidens . .  57 
Chui'ch  of  the  Carpenter  Shop  of 

St.  Joseph 59 

Madonna  (Gabriel  Max,  1840—)  60 

Nazareth  the  Beautiful 61 

The   Betrothal    of    Joseph    and 

Mary  (Raphael,  1483-1520) . .  63 
Joseph  and  the  Boy  Jesus  ( Carl 

Muller,  1839-1893) 65 

Mount  Carmel  66 

The  Visit  of  Mary  to  Elizabeth 

(M.  Albertinelli,  1474-1515)  .  67 
The  Fountain  of  the  Virgin  in 

Nazareth 69 

On  the  Way  to  Bethlehem  (J. 

Portaels,  1S18-) 70 

The  BoyJesus(Murino,1617-1682)  72 

Jerusalem  from  Mount  Scopus. .  73 

The  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat 74 

Modern   Teachers  of  the  Law, 

Jerusalem 75 

Jesus  Among  the  Doctors  (Hof- 

mann,  1824—; 76 

On  the  Road  to  Jerusalem 77 

The  Mosque  of  El  Aksa  on  South 

End  of  the  Temple  Area 77 

The  Boy  Jesus  (Winterstein) ...  78 
The  Mosque  of  Omar  on  Temple 

Site 79 

Interior  of  Mosque  of  Omar 79 

A  Caravan  Resting 80 

The  River  Jordan 82 


17 


i8 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Russian  Pilgrims  at  Jordan 83 

The    Baptism    of    Jesus   (Guido 

Reni,  i:>75-lt)42) 85 

The  Baptism  of  Jesus  (A.  Ver- 
rocchio,  I4'>5-14i<8) 87 

The  Light  of  the  World  (W.  Hol- 

man  Hunt.  1827- ) 89 

Where  Elijah  Hid  from  Jezebel .     91 

The  Wilderness  of  Judaea 93 

The  Temptation  ( Corwin  Knapp 

Linson,  1900) 95 

The  Mount  of  Temptation  from 

the  Jordan  Valley 97 

The  Mount  of  Temptation— near 

view 99 

The  Temptation  ( Comicelius, 

1825—) 100 

On  Jordan's  Banks 101 

Jesus,  Peter  and  John  the  Bap- 
tist (Chr.  Verlat) 102 

The   Calling  of  Peter   and  An- 
drew (Baroccio,  1508-1573)..  103 
The   Marriage    at    Cana     (Paul 

Veronese,  1528-15-^8 ) 106 

The  Spring  at  Cana  of  Galilee  . .  107 

The  Village  of  Cana 109 

Christ  at   the  Door   (Hofmann, 

1824-) 110 

Mount  Zion 112 

Yemenite  Jews  in  Jerusalem 113 

The  Damascus  Gate,  Jerusalem.   114 

The  Citadel  of  Zion 115 

The    Cleansing   of    the    Temple 

(Rembrandt,  1606-1669) 116 

The  Railway  Station,  Jerusalem  1 1 7 

A  Teacher  of  Israel 118 

Jesus  and  Nicodemus  (Unknown 

German   Artist— old) 119 

Jesus  at  Jacob's  Well  (A.  Car- 

racci,  1560-1609) 120 

Entrance  to  Jacob's  Well 121 

Christ  and  the  Woman  of  Samaria 

(Dore,  1832-1883) 123 

The  Famous  Samaritan  Passage 
following  the  Ten  Command- 
ments     124 

Jesus  and  the  Samaritan  Woman 

(Rembrandt,  1606-1669) 125 

Jacob's  Well 126 

A  Peasant  Family  of  Palestine. .  129 


PAGE 

Eminent  Men  of  Palestine 131 

Palestine  Street  Scene 133 

Christ  Healing  the  Sick  (Rem- 
brandt, 1606-1669) 137 

Christ  Raising  the  Daughter  of 
Jairus  (Gustav  Richter,  1823- 
1884.) 141 

A  Group  of  Palestine  Lepers. . . .  145 

Jesus  and  the  Paralytic 147 

The  Daughter  of  Jairus  (Hof- 
mann, 1824     ) 151 

Ruins  of  the  Synagogue  at  Tell 

Hum 153 

Get  Thee  Behind  Me,  Satan !  (Hof- 
mann, 1824—) 154 

"Wilt  Thou  Be  Made  Whole?" 

(C.  Schonherr,  1827  -) 156 

The  Moving  of  the  Waters  (Jean 

Restout,  1696-1768) 157 

The  Pool  of  Bethesda 160 

The  Disciples  Rubbing  Out    the 

Grain  (Dore,  1832-1883) 161 

Jerusalem  from  the  Wall 162 

The  Beach  of  Bethsaida  ('Ain  et 

Tabigha) 164 

Map  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  (Gen. 

Henry  B.  Carrington,  U.  S. 

Army) 165 

The  Shore  at  Capernaum  (Khan 

Minyeh) 166 

The  Draught  of  Fishes  (Grayer, 

1582-1669) 167 

Ancient   Aqueduct  above   Khan 

Minyeh 169 

Tell  Hum 171 

The  Call  of  Matthew  (Bida,  1813- 

1895) 172 

The  Calling  of   Matthew    (Che- 

mento  of  Empoli,  1554-1640)  173 

Fisherman  Washing  his  Net 174 

Tiberias 175 

Fisherman    on   the   Shore  Near 

where    the   Disciples    were 

Called 177 

Christ  and  the  Fishermen  (Zim- 

mermann,   1852  — ) 178 

Jesus    Preaching    from    Peter's 

Boat  (Hofmann,  1824  -) 179 

Modern  Galilajan  Fishermen 180 

A  City  Set  on  a  Hill 182 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


19 


PAGE 

Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Fritz  von 
Uhde,  1846—) 183 

The  Sea  of  Galilee  from  Tell  Hum  186 

Garden  of  Franciscan  Monks  at 
Tell  Hum 187 

Head  of  Christ  (Da  Vinci,  1452- 
1519) 189 

Young  John  the  Baptist  (Ra- 
phael, 1483-1520) 191 

'Ain  Karim,  Traditional  Birth- 
place of  Jolm  the  Baptist  . .  193 

John  Rebuking  Herod  (G.  Fat- 
tori,  1828—) 195 

Beheading  of  John  the  Baptist 
(C.  S.  Pearce,  1881 -) 199 

The  Burial  of  Jesus  (Lucio  Mas- 
sari,  1569-1633) 203 

The  Virgin  Adoring  the  Child 
(Correggio,  1494-1534) 205 

The  Madonna  of  the  Carpenter 
Shop  (Dagnan-Bouveret)  . . .  206 

Madonna  and  Child  (Albrecht 
Durer,  1507) 207 

Christ  Taking  Leave  of  his 
Mother  (Durer,  1511)  208 

So-Called  House  of  Lazarus, 
Bethany 209 

Magdala 210 

Jesus  at  Bethany  (Hofmann, 
1824-) 211 

The  Reading  Magdalen  (Correg- 
gio, 1494-1534) 212 

Jesus,  Mary  and  Martha  (Schon- 
herr,  1824-) 213 

The  Feast  at  the  House  of  Simon 
the  Pharisee  (Rubens,  1577- 
1640) 214 

The  Women  Friends  of  Jesus 
(Alex.  Golz) 215 

Jesus  among  the  Pharisees  (Jean 
Beraud) 216 

The  Women  at  the  House  of 
Simon  the  Pharisee  (School 
of  Giotto,  1276-1336) 217 

The  Son  of  the  Widow  of  Nain 
^H.  Hofmann,  1824—) 219 

The  Village  of  Nain 220 

Christ  at  the  House  of  Lazarus 
( Siemiradsky,  18:34-) 221 

Threshing  Floor  in  Palestine 223 

Jesus  Teaching  in  the  Synagogue 
(C.  K.  Linson) 225 


Jesus  Stilling  the  Tempest  (Dore, 

1833-1883) 227 

The  Hand  to  the  Plow 229 

A  Familiar  Scene  in  Palestine . . .  231 

Egyptian  Papyrus  Containing 
"Sayings"  of  Jesus 233 

The  Multiplication  of  the  Loaves 

(Murillo,  1617-1682) 237 

Jesus  the  Christ  (Munkacsy 
1846-) 239 

Christ  the  Compassionate 
(Raphael,  1483-1520) 243 

The  Tower  of  Antonio,  Jerusa- 
lem   249 

Christ  and  Peter  (Schwartz) ....  253 

The  Man  of  Sorrows  (Jean  Ber- 
aud)    256 

The  Canaanitish  Woman  (Palma 
Vecchio,  1475-1528). 259 

The  New  Entrance  to  Jerusalem  265 

Tower  of   David  and  Hippicus, 

Jerusalem 266 

David  Street,  Jerusalem 267 

Inside  the  Jaffa  Gate 269 

Christ  and  the  Adulteress  (Emile 
Signol) 270 

The  Adulteress  (Titian,  1477-1566)  271 
Mount  Tabor  from  the  Plain  of 

Esdreelon 274 

Mount  Hermon 275 

The     Transfiguration    (Raphael, 

1483-1520) 277 

The   Coin  in  the    Fish's   Mouth 

(Spagnoletto,    1588-1656)....  284 
The  Tribute  Money  (Titian,  1477- 

1576) 285 

A  Modern  Scribe 286 

The  Sacred  Shekel 287 

Christ  and  the  Children  (Hof- 
mann, 1824-) 291 

Christ  Blessing   Little   Children 

.  (Rembrandt,  1607-1669) 293 

Suffer  Little  Children  (Von  Uhde, 

1846-) 294 

The  Valley  of  Hinnom 299 

Gehenna  and  Aceldama 300 

A  Samaritan  Village 303 

Come    Unto   Me  ( Thorwaldsen, 

1770-1844) 304 

The  Inn  of  the  Good  Samaritan  305 


20 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

The  Good  Samaritan  (Frank  T. 

Merrill.  1900)  306 

Jesus  Among  Peasants  (F.  von 

Uhde,  ls4(i-) 309 

Church  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 313 

Feed  My  Sheep  (Raphael,  1483- 

i:.-JU) 319 

A  Palestine  Shepherd 321 

The  Lost  Sheep  (Frank  Beard)  323 
The   Prodigal's    Repentance 

(Durer,  1504) 325 

The  Good  Shepherd  (Dobson)...  327 

The  Good  Shepherd  of  the  Four 

Seasons 328 

The  Pool  of  Siloam 331 

The  Siloam  Inscription 332 

Leading  Forth  the  Sheep 333 

The  Shepherd  of  Jerusalem 33") 

The  Good  Shepherd  (Molitor) . . .  337 
Modern  Bethany 339 

A  Modern  Martha,  of  Bethany, 
Spinning 340 

The  Raising  of  Lazarus  (S.  Del 
Piombo,  1480-1547} 341 

The  Raising  of  Lazarus  (Rubens, 

1577-1640) 342 

The  Tomb  of  Lazarus 343 

Modern  Jericho 353 

A  Jericho  Family 354 

Site  of  Ancient  Jericho 355 

A  Man  of  Distinction  in  Jericho.  366 
The  Apostles'  Fountain— on  Jeri- 
cho Road 359 

Mary   with    the    Alabaster  Box 

(Carlo  Dolci,  lfil6-l(;86) 360 

"The    Poor    Ye    Have    Always 

With  You" 361 

The  Road  from  Jericho  to  Jerusa- 
lem    363 

Jesus  Lamenting  Over  Jerusa- 
lem (Eastlake) 365 

The  Golden  Gate  of  Jerusalem..  3()7 

Golden  Gate,  Interior 369 

The  Triumphal  Entry  (Hofmann, 
1S24-) 371 

Head  of  Christ  (Vladimir  Makou- 
sky)  372 

Street  Leading  to  the  Church  of 
the  Holy  Sepulchre 374 


PAGE 

The  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre   375 

The  So-called  Center  of  the 
World  376 

Jerusalem  from  the  Mount  of 
Olives 377 

The  Holy  Sepulchre  379 

Tribute  to  Caesar  (Bida,  1813- 
1895)   381 

Inscription  on  Stone  from  the 
Temple 383 

The  Man  of  Sorrows  (Eduard 
Biedermann) 386 

Christ  Washing  Peter's  Feet 
(Ford  Maddox  Brown,  1821- 
1893) 388 

Jesus  Washing  Peter's  Feet 
(Boccaccino,  1515-1546) 389 

The  Upper  Room,  Jerusalem  . . .  393 

Judas  Receiving  the  Money  (H. 

Prell) 395 

Alleged  Tombs  of  Absalom, 
Zechariah,  and  James,  with 
Gi'eek  Gethsemane  in  the 
Distance 397 

Gethsemane  and  the  Mount  of 
Olives 399 

Old  Olive  Tree  in  Gethsemane  . .  400 

On  the  Way  to  Gethsemane 
(C  Schonherr,  1825- ) 401 

Jesus  in  Gethsemane  (Liska)  . . .  403 
The  Denial  of  Peter  (Harrach) .  404 
Christ  Before  Pilate  (  Hofmann, 

1824—) 405 

Christ   Leaving   the  Prgetorium 

(Dore,  1833-1883) 406 

The  Sorrowful  Way 407 

Crucifixion  (W.  A.  Bouguereau, 
1825-) 409 

The  Tombs  of  the  Kings,  Jeru- 
salem   411 

The  Entombment  (Perugino,  1446- 
1524) 412 

The  Stone  of  Anointment 413 

The  Tomb  in  the  Garden  at  Cal- 
vary    414 

"There  Is  a  Green  Hill  Far 
Away." 415 

Easter    Morning     ( Bouguereau, 

182.5—) 417 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


21 


PAGE 

Mary  at  the  Sepulchre  (E.  Burne- 
Jones) 418 

He  Is  Risen!  (Tojetti,  1849- ). . .  419 

Peter  and  John  Running  to  the 
Sepulchre  (Eugene  Burnaud)  420 

The  Walk  to  Emmaus  (Hof- 
mann,  1824—) 421 

Kubebeh,  the  Emmaus  of  the 
Crusaders 423 

Christ  at  Emmaus  (Paul  Ver- 
onese, 1528-1588) 425 

"Lord,  I  Believe!"  (C.  Schon- 
herr,  1825-) 427 

Jesus  at  Emmaus  (Rembrandt, 
1607-1669) 428 

"Peace  Be  Unto  You!"  (Kust- 
hardt) 429 

Service  of  American  Pilgrims  on 
Mount  Calvary 431 

John  and  the  Mother  of  Jesus 
(Dobson) 433 

The  Church  of  the  Ascension 435 

The  Summit  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives  from  Bethphage 437 

The  Ascension  (Biermann) 439 

He  is  Risen  !  (Ender,  1793-1854)  443 

Jesus  of  Nazareth 444 

The  Annunciation  (Murillo,  1617- 
1682) 446 

Madonna  and  Child  (Murillo, 
1617-1682) 447 

The  Flight  into  Egypt  (Murillo, 
1617-1682) 448 

Resting  on  the  Way  to  Egypt 
(Murillo,  1617-1682) 449 

The  Holy  Family  (Murillo,  1617- 
1682) 450 

Joseph  and  the  Infant  Jesus 
(Murillo,   1617-1682) 451 

Joseph  and  the  Child  Jesus  (Mu- 
rillo, 1617-1682) 452 

The  Divine  Shepherd  (Murillo, 
1617-1682) 453 

The  Holy  Child  (Murillo,  1617- 
1682) 454 

The  Christ  of  Murillo  (1617-1682)  455 
Christ  Bringing  Fruit  of  the  Tree 

of  Life 457 

Christ  as  Orpheus 457 

The  Nativity,  343  A.  D 458 


PAGE 

The  Good  Shepherd  (from  the 
Catacombs)  458 

The  Good  Shepherd,  with  Jonah 

as  Prototype 458 

The  Raising  of  Lazarus  (from  the 
Catacombs ) 459 

Primitive  Forms  of  the  Cross . . .  459 

The  Baptism  of  Christ  with  Water 
from  Heaven 460 

The  Nativity,  4th  Century 461 

Likeness  of  Christ  attributed  to 

St.  Luke 466 

Luke  Painting  the  Madonna 
(Rogier  Van  der  Weyden, 
1399-14<;4) 467 

Luke's  Alleged  Portrait  of  the 
Virgin 468 

The  Bambino  in  the  Church  in 
Ara  Coeli,  Rome 469 

The  Napkin  of  Saint  Veronica 
in  Saint  Peter's,  Rome 470 

The  Famous  One-Line  Portrait 
of  Christ  (Claude  Mellan, 
1598-1688) 471 

Life  Size  Fresco  from  the  Cata- 
comb of  Saint  Calisto 472 

The  Napkin  of  Veronica  (Ga- 
briel Max,  1846—) 473 

Byzantine  Likeness  of  Christ. . .  474 

Mosaic  from  the  Baptistry  of 
Constantine 475 

Miniature  Mosaic  from  the  Cata- 
combs    476 

The  Madonna  of  the  Chair  (Ra- 
phael, 1483-1520) 477 

The  Queen  of  Heaven  (Pap- 
peritz) 478 

The  Immaculate  Conception 
(Murillo,  1617-1682) 479 

The  Madonna  of  the  Arbor  (Dag- 
nan-Bouveret) 480 

Raphael  Painting  the  Madonna 
of  the  Chair  (J.  W.  Wittmer, 
1802-1880) 481 

The  Visit  of  the  Shepherds  ( Al- 
brecht  Durer,  1510 ) . .  482 

The  Adoration  of  the  Magi  (Al- 
brecht  Durer,  1511) 483 

The  Coronation  of  the  Madonna 
(Botticelli,  1447-1510) 484 

The    Madonna   (  Filippino  Lippi, 

1460-1505) 485 


22 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Mater  Dolorosa  (Guido  Reni, 
1570-1642; 486 

The  Sistine  Madonna   (Raphael, 

14s;m.VJU) 488 

The    Virg-in    Adoring   the    Child 

(FraFilippoLippi,  1412-1469)  487 
The  Nativity   (W.  A.  Bouguer- 

eau.  1S25— ) 489 

The   Madonna   and   Child    (Cor- 

reggio.  1494-1534) 490 

Mexican  Madonna 491 

Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe 498 

The  Star  of  Bethlehem  (Piglheim)  494 
The  Virgin  and  the  Infant  Jesus 

( Gherardo  Delle  Notti,  1590- 

1656) 495 

The  Visit  of  Mary  to  Elizabeth 

(Titian,  1477-1576) 496 

The  Annunciation  (Dante  Gabriel 
Rossetti,  1S28-1882) 497 

The  Flight  into  Egypt  (Claude 
Lorraine,  1600-1682) 498 

The  Repose  in  Egypt  (Le  Rolle)  499 

Jesus  and  the  Children  (Kirch- 
bach)  500 

The  Carpenter  Shop  of  Nazareth 
(Corwin  Knapp  Linson) 501 

The  Shadow  of  Death  (W.  Hol- 
man  Hunt,  1x27—) 502 

The  Resurrection  of  Lazarus 
(Bassano,  1510-1592) 503 

The  Last  Supper  (Rubens,  1577- 

1(j40) 504 

The  Crucifixion  (Michael  Angelo, 

1475-1564) 505 

The  Dead  Christ  (Fra  Bartolom- 

meo,  1469-1517) 506 

Jesus  and  Thomas   (Van  Dyck, 

1599-1641) 507 

Jesus  Among  the  Doctors  (Giot- 
to, 127(3-1336) 508 

The  Finding  of  Christ  in  the 
Temple  (W.  Holman  Hunt, 
1827—) 509 

The  Adoration  of  the  Magi  (Al- 

brecht  Altdorfer,  1512) 510 

Pilate  Washing  his  Hands  (Hans 
Holbein,  1517) 511 

The  Visit  of  the  Magi  to  the 
Cave-Born  Child  (From  the 
Codex  Graecus,  in  Vatican, 
1613  A.  D.) 512 


PAGE 

The  Raising  of   Lazarus   (Rem- 

Brandt,    1642) 513 

Christ  before  Caiaphas  (Durer, 
1512) 514 

The  Coronation   of   the    Virgin 

(Finiguerra,  1452) 515 

The  Adoration  of  the  Magi  (Fini- 
guerra, 1452) 516 

The  Last  Supper  (Leonardo  da 
Vinci,  1452-1519) 517 

The  Last  Supper  (Fra  Angelico, 

1387-1455) 518 

The  Last  Supper  (Zimmermann, 

1852—) 519 

Christ  at  Emmaus  (Fra  Angeli- 
co, 1387-1455) 520 

Christ  at  Emmaus  (Rembrandt, 
1634) 521 

Christ  Healing  a  Child  (Gabriel 

Max,  1840—) 522 

"Save,     Lord,     or    I    Perish" 

(Frederic  Shields) 524 

Christ    and    the    Young    Ruler 

(Hofmann,  1S24-) 526 

The  Man  Christ  Jesus  (Hofmann, 

1824—) 527 

Ecce   Homo   (Guido   Reni,   1575- 

1642) 528 

Christ  Blessing  Little   Childrer. 

(Hofmann,  1824—) 529 

"Come,  Lord  Jesus,  and  be  Our 
Guest"  (Fritz  von  Uhde, 
1846-) 530 

The  Holy  Family  (Fritz  von 
Uhde,  1846-) 531 

The  Angel  and  the  Shepherds 
^Fritz  von  Uhde,  1846-) ....  532 

One  of  Fritz  Von  Uhde's  Cher- 
ubs       533 

Study  for  the  Head  of  Christ 
(Alfred  Juergens,  1903) 534 

The  Great  Physician  (Gabriel 
Max,  1840—) 535 

The   Saviour  of   the  World  (F. 

Bucher) 536 

Christ  w^ith  Peasants  (L'Her- 
mitte) 537 

Jesus  Among  Pharisees  (Jean 
Beraud) 538 

Christ  Bearing  the  Cross  (Jean 
Beraud)      539 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


23 


PAGE 

The  Descent  from  the  Cross 
(Jean  Beraud) 540 

The  Scourging  of  Jesus  (Jean 
Beraud) 541 

"If  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup 
pass  from  me"  (Joseph- 
Aubert,  1898) 542 

"Why  Have  Ye  Done  This?" 
(Debat-Ponsan) 543 

"Behold  I  Stand  at  the  Door 
and  Knock"  (Frank  Beard, 
1902) 544 

The   Last   Communion  (Joseph- 

Aubert,  1900) 545 

The  Betrayal  ( Hebert) 546 

The  Mission  of  the  Apostles 
(Joseph- Aubert,    1899) 547 

Jesus  Bearing  the  Cross  (W.  A. 

Bouguerau) 548 


PAGE 

The  Crucifixion  ( Joseph- Aubert, 

1903) 549 

The  Return  from  Calvary  ( Joseph- 
Aubert,  1903)     550 

On  the  Way  to  Emmaus  (Girar- 
det,  1903) 551 

The  Head  of  Chi'ist  (Wolter- 
Sigora) 552 

Christ  and  the  Adulteress  (A.  A. 
Anderson) 553 

The  Widow's  Mite  (Hugo  Mieth, 

1S99) 554 

"Suffer  Little  Children  to  Come 
to  Me."  (Ruederstein,1893)..  555 

"Behold,  I  Send  You  Forth"  (J. 
R.  Wehle,  1900) 556 

The  Good  Shepherd  (Plockhorst, 
1825—) 557 

The  Good  Shepherd  of  the  Cata- 
combs    558 


THE   GOOD    SHEPHERD — (FREDERIC    SHIELDS) 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH 

CHAPTER  I 


THE  SONG  AND  THE  STAR 

The  modern  tourist  visiting  Bethlehem  makes  his  way  from 
Jerusalem  over  an  excellent  road,  on  horseback  or  in  a  com- 
fortable carriage,  and  may  easily  accomplish  the  half-dozen 
miles  of  his  pilgrimage  in  an  hour.  More  slowly,  and  often 
with  weary  feet,  the  caravans  of  antiquity  toiled  over  this  same 
highway.  We  are  following,  when  we  make  this  journey,  at 
the  end  of  a  procession  many  centuries  in  length.  Through 
these  same  fertile  valleys,  over  this  same  thoroughfare,  patri- 
archs and  merchantmen  of  antiquity  plodded  their  way  from 
the  populous  centers  of  Assyria  and  Babylon  to  the  markets 
of  Egypt.  Glad  were  they  and  their  overladen  beasts  of  the 
comparative  level  of  this  stretch  of  road  after  the  toil  and 
danger  of  the  hill-country  to  the  north,  and  glad  were  they 
returning  of  the  fertility  of  the  fields  and  the  occasional  shade 
by  the  way,  after  the  heat  and  sand  of  the  desert.  The  lime- 
stone of  this  thoroughfare  has  been  ground  to  dust  by  feet 
that  themselves  returned  to  dust  thousands  of  years  ago.  The 
foot  of  the  modern  tourist  wakes  echoes  of  footfalls  that  died 
out  in  silence  ages  ago. 

But  among  all  who  journeyed  southward  over  this  road  in 
past  centuries,  one  group  rises  from  the  silence  and  takes  form 
in  the  imagination — an  anxious  man,  leading  a  small  Syrian 
donkey,  on  which  rides  a  young  and  beautiful  woman.  They 
proceed  slowly  and  with  frequent  halts;  and  many  are  the 
travelers  that  go  past  them  on  the  way.  A  throng  of  people 
is  making  its  way  to  Bethlehem,  for  the  word  of  Caesar  has 
commanded  a  census  as  the  basis  of  a  new  tax  levy,  and  the 
people  go  for  enrolment  to  their  ancestral  homes.     This  law 

2S 


26 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


has  brought  the  young  carpenter  and  his  bride  a  weary  jour- 
ney of  a  hundred  miles  from  Nazareth,  and  at  what  seems  a 
most  inopportune  time. 

We  see  this  young  couple  before  us  all  the  way;  we  pass 
them  again  and  again  as  we  journey,  for  their  pace  is  painfully 
slow,  and  it  will  be  night  ere  they  arrive  in  the  home  of  their 
forefathers,  and  a  cold  welcome,  alas,  awaits  them  there. 

Before  we  reach  Bethlehem  we  are  reminded  that  the  place 
had  its  own  historic  associations  before  the  time  of  Christ. 
Close  beside  the  roadway  on  the  right  is  seen  a  conspicuous 


THE   TOMB    OF    RACHEL 


sepulchre.  Mary  must  have  noticed  it,  and.  if  she  had  never 
seen  it  before,  she  can  hardly  have  failed  to  ask  Joseph  what 
it  was.  We  can  imagine  that  Joseph  told  her  with  some  reluc- 
tance, and  that  the  information  brought  to  Mary  a  momen- 
tary foreboding.  This  is  the  tomb  of  Rachel.  Jacob  and  his 
family  were  in  the  midst  of  one  of  their  journeys  southward 
from  Bethel  when  Rachel  here  gave  birth  to  Benjamin,  the 
son  of  her  sorrow. 

"And  Rachel  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  way  to  Ephrath 
(the  same  is  Bethlehem).  And  Jacob  set  u])  a  pillar  upon  her 


THE  SONG  AND  THE  STAR 


27 


grave:   the  same  is  the  Pillar  of  Rachel's  grrave  unto  this  day" 

(Gen.  35:  19.  20). 

Mary  knew  the  story  well,  but  the  place  itself  must  have 
brought  it  all  back  to  her  and  with  new  and  ominous  signifi- 
cance.    We  see  her  and  Joseph  making  what  haste  they  may 


THE    ARRIVAL    AT    BETHLEHEM 
(OLIVER  L.    MERSON,    1846 ) 

toward  Bethlehem,  while  we  tarry  for  a  while  at  Rachel's 
grave — one  of  the  oldest  and  best  authenticated  of  the  memo- 
rials of  the  patriarchs. 

Jacob's  own  pillar  may  not  have  remained  long  in  place,  but 
there  was  every  motive  for  the  renewal    of  a  monument    of 


28 


JF.SUS    OF    NAZARETH 


such  historic  and  pathetic  interest.  Situated  as  it  was  by  the 
highroad,  it  soon  became  a  recognized  \va}mark.  In  Sam- 
uel's time  the  place  of  the  grave  was  well  known  (I.  Samuel 
10:2),  and  it  is  believed  that  knowledge  of  the  spot  has  never 
disappeared  from  popular  interest  so  as  to  have  required  the 
invention  of  a  myth  to  identify  it.  The  spot  is  held  in  sacred 
affection  by  Jew,  Mohammedan  and  Christian.  The  tomb  has 
often  been  restored  and  its  external  form  changed.  The  pres- 
ent structure  is  entirely  modern,  and  very  similar  to  the  other 
tombs  of  the  more  pretentious  sort  of  which  one  finds  num- 


■1 

■1 

•    i'm''  .^ 

■-'■y-  -—■*■- 

^^;^' 

''•- 

^wiiMVvnML.'  f  rT'T 

THE   CITY    OF    BETHLEHEM 


bers  throughout  Syria;  but  the  grave  itself  is  quite  possibly 
undisturbed.  Here,  every  Thursday,  come  scores  of  Moham- 
medan women  for  a  day  of  mourning.  The  weeping  of  Rachel 
for  her  children  finds  loud  and  vehement  echoes  in  the  lamen- 
tations of  these  Moslem  women  for  Rachel  herself.  Here,  of  all 
places  in  Palestine,  a  Moslem  woman  desires  to  be  buried. 
Thousands  of  graves,  not  all  of  them  graves  of  women,  sur- 
round the  tomb  of  the  beloved  wife  of  Jacob. 

Bethlehem  is  in  plain   sight,   a  mile   ahead.      Its   situation 
instantly  reminds  one  of  that  of  Jerusalem.     It  is  built  upon 


THE  SONG  AND   TilE   STAR  29 

a  double  hill  with  a  low  valley  or  saddle  near  the  middle,  and, 
while  much  smaller,  it  stands  up  from  its  surroundmg  valleys, 
square-built  and  solid,  and  appears  almost  as  impressive  and 
picturesque  as  the  Holy  City  itself.  The  hill  is  of  gray  lime- 
stone and  the  slopes  and  surrounding  valleys  are  green  with 


MADONNA    OF    THE    GRAND    DUKE 
(RAPHAEL,     1482- 1 520) 

fig-trees  and  olive-trees,  and  cultivated  fields  and  pastures. 
Just  before  we  come  to  the  town  the  road  makes  a  turn,  while 
a  path,  keeping  straight  ahead,  leads  to  a  well  which  has  been 
identified  for  six  hundred  years  as  the  well  of  David.  Here 
this  comparatively  modern  tradition  places  the  scene  of  the 
story  in  II.  Sam.  23:  14-17: 


30 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


"And  David  was  then  in  the  hold,  and  the  garrison  of  the 
PhiHstines  was  then  in  Bethlehem.  And  David  longed  and 
said.  Oh  that  one  would  give  me  water  to  drink  of  the  well 
of  Bethlehem,  which  is  by  the  gate!  And  the  three  mighty 
men  brake  through  the  host  of  the  Philistines,  and  drew  water 


THE  JOURNEY   nF    ]  UK    MALI- 


\  AN    DEUSEN) 


out  of  the  well  of  Bethlehem,  that  was  by  the  gate,  and  took  it, 
and  brought  it  to  David:  but  he  would  not  drink  thereof,  but 
poured  it  out  unto  the  Lord.  And  he  said,  Be  it  far  from  me, 
O  Lord,  that  I  should  do  this:  shall  I  drink  the  blood  of  the 
men  that  went  in  jeopardy  of  their  lives?  therefore  he  would 
not  drink  it.     These  things  did  the  three  mighty  men." 


THE  SONG   AND   THE   STAR 


31 


It  is  little  wonder  that  a  nature  so  warm-hearted  and  gen- 
erous as  that  of  David  was  capable  of  calling  forth  such  enthu- 
siastic loyalty  and  devotion,  and  it  also  is  not  strange  that  a 
man  of  feelings  so  fine  as  those  expressed  in  the  pouring  out  of 
the  water  brought  to  him  at  such  peril,  should  have  impressed 
the  men  of  his  own  generation  as  worthy  to  be  king.     It  was 


THE    STAR    OF    BETHLEHEM — (SCHONHERR.     1824 — ) 

the  life  of  this  man  that  made  Bethlehem  famous,  and  it  bears 
his  name,  the  City  of  David. 

But  a  story  more  beautiful  than  any  recorded  of  David  is 
that  with  w'hich  the  Gospels  open,  the  birth  of  Jesus  the 
Saviour.  Beautiful  it  is,  but  pathetic,  also.  The  young  car- 
penter arrived  late  in  Bethlehem,  and,  in  spite  of  the  prover- 


32 


JESUS    OF    NAZARP'TH 


bial  hosi)italitv  of  Palestine,  was  unable  to  obtain  a  lodging. 
The  khan  was  full,  and  the  cavern  which  served  it  as  a  stable 
— and  the  khan  itself  was  little  more  than  a  stable — alone 
afforded  them  a  shelter. 

We  are  not  left  to  conjecture  the  general  character  of  an 
inn  or  khan  of  the  time  of  Christ.  Such  caravansaries  still 
exist  in  Palestine.  A  typical  building  of  this  kind  at  Jenin  is 
a  stone  structure  about  fifty  feet  long  and  twenty-five  wide, 
divided  in  the  middle  by  a  wall  five  feet  high;  one  side  being 


-^gW^_ 

'""^TmB  ^  '  ■  ■■HBif'^/"" 

^^iSf^Tz^S^iKiM^bJ 

THE    CHURCH    OF    THE    NATIVITY    AT    CHRISTMAS 


for  horses  and  the  other  for  the  people.  Around  the  wall  of 
this  latter  room  extends  a  bench  of  masonry  five  feet  wide  and 
two  feet  high,  known  as  the  leewan,  on  which  people  store 
their  baggage  and  make  their  beds  for  the  night.  Each 
caravan,  on  its  arrival,  passes  through  this  room  and  stops 
while  the  horses  and  donkeys  are  unloaded.  The  animals  are 
then  turned  loose  into  the  other  apartment  and  fenced  out  by 
a  single  pole.  Sleepers  on  the  leew^ans  around  the  walls  are 
frequently  disturbed  by  the  arrival  of  other  caravans,  or  by 
the  stamping  of  horses  already  within  the  enclosure.     There  is 


THE  SONG  AND  THE  STAR  33 

no  privacy;  travelers  arriving^-  after  the  leewans  are  full  must 
make  the  best  of  the  floor:  and  if  this  too  is  occupied  the  last 
resort  is  the  other  apartment  with  the  horses.  Some  of  these 
khans  were  doubtless  larger  than  the  one  described,  and  some 
had  stone  mangers  for  the  horses.  Some,  too,  had  more  apart- 
ments or  recessed  leewans  opening  around  a  central  court. 
The  town  of  Bethlehem  being  upon  an  ancient  highroad, 
would  probably  have  possessed  a  khan  larger  than  the  average, 
and  its  stables  and  adjacent  yards  would  have  covered  more 
space  than  the  modern  one  at  Jenin.  Still,  the  general  type 
has  doubtless  been  altered  little,  and  the  caravansaries  in 
Palestine  today  will  illustrate,  quite  graphically,  the  rude  sur- 
roundings of  the  birth  of  Jesus. 

It  was  no  parsimony  on  the  part  of  the  young  carpenter 
that  brought  him  and  his  bride  to  this  unpromising  place. 
Vainly  Joseph  sought  a  lodging  elsewhere,  but  the  inner 
leewans  were  full,  and  the  little  town  had  no  home  that  opened 
its  door,  at  that  time  when  the  village  was  crowded,  to  Mary 
and  her  husband.  So,  in  the  stable  of  the  village  khan,  Jesus 
was  born. 

Can  we  be  at  all  sure  that  we  have  found  the  place  where 
Jesus  was  born?  There  are  many  things  of  interest  in  Pales- 
tine which  we  must  read  about  with  doubt  or  misgiving;  but 
we  are  glad  to  be  assured  that  the  place  where  this  occurred  is 
known  beyond  serious  doubt.  The  great  church  of  Saint 
Mary,  erected  by  Constantine  early  in  the  fourth  century,  was 
located  upon  a  tradition  that  reached  at  least  two  hundred 
years  farther  back.  The  very  church  is  still  standing,  though 
Jerusalem  has  been  destroyed  again  and  again;  and  the  tradi- 
tion which  the  building  perpetuates  has  come  down  to  us  like 
the  church  itself,  from  the  earliest  Christian  centuries.  But 
the  inn  and  grotto,  thus  marked  by  the  church,  had  been  kept 
well  in  mind  since  the  time  of  Justin  Martyr,  in  whose  day  this 
was  well  accepted  as  the  veritable  spot  of  Christ's  birth.  The 
testimony  of  Justin  Martyr,  who  lived  less  than  a  century  after 
Christ,  is  the  more  convincing  because  he  was  born  in  Pales- 
tine, at  Shechem,  and  knew  the  country,  and  was  well  able  to 


34 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


pass  upon  the  reasonableness  of  current  traditions.  This  does 
not  g'ive  us  cert.iinty.  but  a  reasonable  probability,  wliich  a 
visit  to  the  place  seems  to  confirm.  The  place  answers  all  the 
necessities  of  the  case,  makes  the  story  more  real,  and  satis- 
fies at  once  one's  reason  and  his  sense  of  fitness. 

The  church  is  occupied  by  Greeks.  Latins  and  Armenians. 
These  sects  show  none  too  much  of  the  Christian  spirit  in 
their  love  of  each  other,  but  after  a  fashion   thev  dwell  tog^ether 


THE    MARKET    PLACE    IN    BETHLEHEM 


in  unity.  This  is  the  oldest  Christian  church  in  Palestine,  and 
probal)ly  the  oldest  in  the  world.  It  is  cruciform  in  shape,  and 
the  choir,  which  occupies  the  top  and  arms  of  the  cross,  is 
separated  from  the  nave  by  a  partition.  A  double  row  of  col- 
umns, on  either  side  of  the  nave,  are  crowned  with  Corinthian 
ca])itals  with  a  cross  carved  on  each.  The  clearstory  rises 
high  above  these  columns.  This  part  of  the  church,  common 
to  all  the  denominations  who  hold  it.  is  bare  and  faded,  and 
the  separate  quarters  of  the  three  sects  have  a  shabby  look; 


THE  SONG  AND   THE  STAR 


35 


but  the  Greek  cathedral,  above  the  grotto,  is  handsomely  dec- 
orated, and  the  Grotto  of  the  Nativity  is  jealously  guarded. 
Here  are  fifteen  lamps,  kept  constantly  burning;  six  of  them 
by  the  Greeks,  five  of  them  by  the  Armenians,  and  four  by 
the  Latins.  The  exact  place  of  the  Saviour's  birth,  as  the  tra- 
dition holds  it,  is  indicated  by  a  star  in  the  floor,  with  the 
words  in  Latin,  "Here  Christ  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary." 
Daily  services  are  held  here  by  the  different  sects,  and  the 
Christmas  celebrations  are  particularly  imposing. 


WORKERS    IN     MOTHER-OF-PEARL — BETHLEHEM 

In  this  cave  dwelt  Jerome,  the  greatest  Biblical  critic  of  the 
earliest  Christian  centuries.  Here  he  learned  the  Hebrew 
language  and  made  his  translation  of  the  Vulgate.  The  grotto 
where  he  is  believed  to  have  wrought  is  pointed  out,  as  well  as 
his  tomb  and  the  graves  of  the  two  women,  mother  and  daugh- 
ter, who  devoted  themselves  to  him  during  his  long  continued 
effort.  Jerome  was  subject  to  the  most  severe  criticism  for 
presuming  to  make  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible,  and  his 
righteous  soul  was  vexed  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  absolute 
saintliness  by  attacks  made,  not  only  upon  his  orthodoxy,  but 


36 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


upon  his  moral  character  as  well.  But  he  had  faith  in  the  ^^reat 
work  he  had  undertaken,  and  so  also  had  some  of  his  friends, 
and  he  persisted  until  his  translation  of  the  Bible  was  complete. 
He  applied  to  his  critics  some  names  which  were  the  reverse 
of  gentle.  He  called  them  "fools,"  "stupids"  and  "biped 
asses."  The  critics  were  in  the  majority  while  he  lived,  but 
after  his  death  the  value  of  his  work  was  recognized,  and  he 


A     BETHLEHEM     FAMILY 


was  declared  a  saint.  The  Latin  church  still  uses  his  transla- 
tion, which,  spite  of  its  limitations,  has  proved  one  of  the 
greatest  blessings  of  the  Christian  church. 

The  modern  Bethlehem  contains  about  five  thousand  inhab- 
itants, almost  wholly  Christian.  It  is  an  enterprising  little  city, 
and  a  marked  contrast  with  Hebron,  its  Mohammedan  neigh- 
bor. One  is  full  of  energy,  progress  and  hope;  the  other  is 
stagnant  and  void  of  ambition.     One  worships  by  the  tombs 


THE  SONG  AND   THE  STAR 


2>7 


of  a  great  past;  the  other  rejoices  in  a  Christ  whose  Hfe,  new- 
born in  every  man  and  community  that  receives  him,  forever 
begins  anew,  and  forever  expects  a  glorious  future. 

My  own  visit  to  Bethlehem  was  made  in  March,  1902,  after 
a  weary,  but  fascinating,  horseback  ride  through  Galilee  and 
Samaria  to  Jerusalem,  over  rough  and  rocky  roads.  The  car- 
riage drive  to  Bethlehem  seemed  very  restful  by  comparison 


A    PAIR    OF    BETHLEHEM     MAIDENS 


and  the  journey  both  short  and  delightful.  The  streets  of  the 
little  city  were  full  of  enterprising  men  selling  articles  made 
from  mother-of-pearl,  many  of  them  of  exquisite  workman- 
ship, or  of  olive-wood  and  cedar.  Women,  too,  were  upon  the 
streets  in  large  numbers,  in  their  picturesque  attire  and  un- 
veiled faces.  They  are  sturdy,  wholesome  looking  women,  and 
their  costumes  are  more  brilliant  and  striking  in  color  than 


38 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


those  of  any  other  city  in  Palestine.  The  town  lacks  water, 
as  Jerusalem  does,  and  depends  upon  its  cisterns  dug  in  the 
limestone  rock,  twenty-five  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  But  the  surrounding  countr\^  is  fertile,  and  the  people 
are  well  nourished  and  show  evidence  of  intelligence  and  skill. 


w 

^ 

^: 

w 

.  \ 

^ 

^^^ 

P**^^^^* 

THE    VISION    OF    THE    SHEPHERDS — (PLOCKHORST,     1825 — ) 

It  is  a  city  that  evokes  one's  enthusiasm,  and  sends  him  back 
with  joy  in  his  heart.  The  song  of  the  angels  is  still  heard  in 
the  hearts  of  men,  and  one  hears  it  with  sweeter  and  deeper 
meanings  when  he  has  visited  the  spot  where  first  it  woke  the 
wondering  shepherds  to  thanksgiving  and  praise. 


THE  SONG  AND   THE  STAR 


39 


The  angels  sang  above  the  place,  and  well  they  might,  for 
nowhere  has  been  struck  a  chord  that  echoes  so  loud  and  clear 
in  the  songs  of  the  centuries  that  followed.  To  the  west  of 
the  village,  one  is  shown  the  field  where  the  angels  sang.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  no  one  knows  in  just  what  field  the  shep- 
herds were  keeping  their  sheep.  It  is  enough  to  know  that 
this  may  have  been  the  field.  A  similar  field  is  assigned  by 
tradition  to  Boaz  and  Ruth.     It  is  pleasant  to  be  reminded 


SUPPOSED    SITE    OF    THE    MANGER 


of  this  old-time  love  story  in  this  home  of  David  and  the  tem- 
porary abiding  place  of  Joseph  and  Mary. 

It  was  appropriate  that  the  Christ-child  should  have  come 
with  a  burst  of  song.  When  the  earth  began,  which  w^as  to 
be  the  scene  of  his  redemption,  "the  morning  stars  sang 
together."  For  ages  inspired  poets  sang  in  anticipation  of  his 
birth.  The  last  thing  that  Jesus  and  his  disciples  did  together 
was  to  sing  a  song  before  going  out  from  the  upper  chamber 
where  they  celebrated  the  last  supper.  Wherever  the  Gospel 
has  gone,  it  has  been  w-afted  on  the  wings  of  song.     In  com- 


40  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

memoration  of  all  the  melody  which  had  preceded  it,  and  in 
anticipation  of  all  the  song  that  was  to  spring  from  it,  what 
w^onder  that  the  angels  sang  when  Jesus  was  born! 

"Glory  to  God  in  the  highest!"  Was  not  God  already  glori- 
fied there?  All  God's  worlds  are  one  in  their  interests  and 
hopes.  There  is  ahvays  an  increment  of  joy  and  a  new  burst 
of  praise  in  heaven  over  any  good  thing  on  earth.  The  birth- 
cry  of  the  Babe  in  the  manger  was  echoed  by  the  gladdest 
shout  of  praise  that  ever  reverberated  through  the  vault  of 
heaven. 

"Peace  on  earth,  good  will  toward  men!"  In  olden  times, 
kings  loaned  their  children  as  hostages  to  nations  with  which 
they  had  been  at  war.  Jesus  was  the  pledge  of  God's  good 
will  toward  men.  But  he  was  also  the  example  and  exponent 
of  men's  good  will  toward  one  another.  Strife  and  cruelty  had 
marked  the  ascent  of  the  race.  History  had  run  red,  and  the 
ages  had  echoed  with  sobs  caused  by  man's  inhumanity  to  man. 
Jesus  came  that  good  will  might  abound  between  man  and 
man,  and  between  man  and  his  God. 

The  Gospel  of  Luke  opens  wath  a  rich  quartette.  Zacharias 
sings  his  Benedictus  and  Simeon  his  Nunc  Dimittis,  while  the 
voices  of  Elizabeth  and  Mary  rise,  the  one  in  her  Beatitude 
and  the  other  in  her  Magnificat.  What  a  wonderful  overture 
is  this  for  the  great  drama  of  redemption!  But  above,  in  the 
starry  heavens  the  angels  sing  their  Gloria  whose  echoes  make 
the  centuries  melodious. 

I  heard  a  song  in  Bethlehem,  and  in  the  Grotto  of  the  Nativ- 
ity. A  service  was  in  progress,  conducted  by  the  Armenians. 
It  was  a  children's  service.  The  little  chapel  was  thronged 
with  children,  dark  eyed,  straight  haired  little  fellows,  chant- 
ing their  quaint  hymns  of  praise.  It  was  music  unlike  that  of 
the  home-land,  but  it  was  music  in  praise  of  the  Christ-child, 
and  the  voices  of  the  children  gave  it  sweetness  and  spon- 
taneity. I  have  tried  vainly  to  recall  the  melody,  the  move- 
ment was  unfamiliar,  and  the  notes  will  not  repeat  themselves 
in  my  memory.  But  the  scene  comes  up  again  in  my  recollec- 
tion, and  with  the  picture  a  suggestion  of  sweet  harmonies 
befitting  the  place  and  its  memories. 


THE  SONG  AND  THE  STAR 


41 


Another  group  beside  the  shepherds  came  to  the  cradle  of 
Jesus.  These  were  the  Magi  from  the  East.  "Where  is  he  that 
is  born  King  of  the  Jews?"  they  asked.  They  had  followed 
"his  star."  How  did  they  know  it  to  be  "his  star"?  Men 
studied  the  heavens  in  those  days.  Astrology  was  a  curious 
art,  and  to  us  is  a  vain  and  obsolete  one,  but  these  men  saw 


■l 

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""^^ 

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BP'      ^  „  .**-. 

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4H 

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lE'^H^^'^i 

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B   LM 

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Wmm 

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mm 

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THE   ARRIVAL   OF   THE   SHEPHERDS — (lE   ROLLE) 


signs  in  the  heavens,  and  who  shall  say  that  God  did  not  speak 
to  them  through  such  signs  as  they  understood? 

Kepler  computed  the  position  of  the  planets,  and  found  that 
for  some  months  before  the  birth  of  Christ  they  had  been  such 
as  to  awaken  the  attention  of  throughtful  observers.  The  Jews 
regarded  the  sign  Pisces  as  of  especial  significance  to  them.  In 
the  year  747  of  Rome,  Jupiter  and  Saturn  were  three  times 
in  conjunction — on  May  29,  October  i  and  December  5 — and 
all  in  that  sign.     The  next  spring  the  same  stars  were  in  con- 


^2  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

junction,  and  Mars  with  them.  These  sic^ns  may  have  set  the 
Magi  to  investigating,  but  we  shall  probably  search  in  vain  in 
the  record  of  conjunctions  for  the  star  they  followed.  Herod 
died  in  750  A.  U.  C.  The  birth  of  Christ  was  earlier  than  this, 
and  after  the  conjunctions  above  referred  to,  probably  in  749, 
or  at  the  end  of  B.  C.  5.  Some  vision  in  the  heavens  the  Magi 
saw,  and  they  obeyed  it,  and  came  seeking  "the  King  of  the 
ews. 
The  Jews  had  almost  ceased  to  expect  a  king.  When  the 
last  degenerate  representative  of  the  Davidic  line  looked  for 
the  last  time  on  earth  on  the  emblems  of  his  power,  as  the 
smoke  of  the  fire  that  was  consuming  the  temple  rose  skyward, 
and  then,  bound  and  blinded  and  broken-hearted,  took  up  his 
weary  march  with  lamenting  captives  to  the  land  of  Babylon, 
there  settled  down  over  the  Jewish  people  a  cloud  of  melan- 
choly that  deepened  into  despair.  The  long  procession  of  fet- 
tered and  footsore  captives,  looking  back  at  the  burning  city 
of  Jerusalem,  recalling  all  the  horrors  of  the  siege  and  the 
sacking  of  the  city,  remembering  with  the  keenest  anguish 
the  loss  of  friends  and  the  valiant  men  fallen  among  the  slain 
of  battle,  and  anticipating  the  sufferings  that  were  before  them 
in  a  heathen  land,  suffered  awhile  in  silence  and  then  broke 
forth  in  the  saddest  of  the  Psalms.  Looking  back  through 
the  smoke  and  blinding  tears  and  seeing  their  beloved  city 
dishonored,  their  own  homes  destroyed,  their  very  temple 
burning,  while  their  enemies  exulted  over  them  and  their 
heathen  neighbors  urged  on  the  work  of  demolition  and 
taunted  them  and  blasphemed  the  name  of  their  God,  the  Jews 
sufifered  an  anguish  of  despair  such  as  never  a  nation  had 
known.  We  hear  the  clanking  of  their  chains  mingling  with 
their  lamentations  all  along  their  weary  way.  We  hear  the 
despair  that  uttered  itself  in  every  prayer  or  complaint.  They 
had  been  a  happy  people,  a  music  loving  people,  a  trustful, 
festive  people.  But  they  were  filled  with  unutterable  sorrows 
now.  They  hung  their  harps  on  the  willows,  and  their  hearts 
sank. 

But  deliverance  came,  and  a  company  returned  to  their  own 


THE  SONG  AND   THE   STAR 


43 


land,  rebuilt  the  temple  and  restored  the  worship  of  Jehovah. 
We  have  their  songs  of  almost  hysterical  joy  when  they 
returned.''' 

But  they  had  no  king-.    They  were  tributary  in  turn  to  Baby- 
lon, to  Persia,  to  Greece,  to  Egypt,  to  Syria,  and  now  to  Rome. 


HOLY    NIGHT — (CORREGGIO,     I494-I534) 

All  the  while  their  hearts  burned  for  independence.  They  felt 
that  God  was  dishonored  in  their  subjection.  The  hand  of  the 
tax-gatherer  was  heavy  upon  them,  and  the  reproach  of  the 
Gentile  conquerors  was  hard  to  bear.  Where  was  their  king? 
One  of  their  prophets,  Alicah.  had  designated  Bethlehem  as  a 


♦Chapters    on    The    Psalms   of  the    Exile,    and   the    Restoration,    in    my 
"The   Psalms  and  their   Storv." 


44  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

place  of  coniini;-  honor,  and  some  of  the  interpreters  of  the  Law 
believed  themselves  to  have  calculated  the  time,  and  that  it 
was  near,  when  God  was  to  visit  his  people.  Strangely  enough 
there  was  widespread  conviction  in  neighboring  and  more 
remote  nations  that  the  Jews  were  right  in  this,  and  that  some 
great  event  was  about  to  happen  to  them.  Just  about  this 
time  came  the  ]\Iagi,  worshippers  of  one  God.  but  seeking  a 
nobler  faith  than  they  had  known,  and  an  earthly  prince  who 
should  fulfil  their  heavenly  hopes.  And  they  came  to  the 
place  where  the  young  child  lay. 

Thus  two  very  different  groups  of  men  came  to  the  cradle 
of  the  Christ.  One  company  heard  the  song,  and  the  other 
followed  the  star.  One  represented  the  humble  laborers,  and 
the  other  the  learned  scholars,  of  the  tin>e.  One  group  was 
from  the  Jewish  nation,  and  the  other  from  the  Gentile  world. 
One  group  by  the  swaddling  clothes  recognized  the  child  as 
of  their  own  nation;  the  other  by  the  star  knew  him  to  belong 
to  the  world.  He  was  born  King  of  the  Jews;  but  he  has 
become  the  Prince  of  peace  to  all  the  earth. 

We  do  not  know  that  Jesus  ever  returned  to  Bethlehem. 
The  associations  of  his  later  years  were  with  other  cities, 
many  of  them  remote  from  the  village  of  his  birth;  but  around 
the  place  where  he  was  born  the  most  sacred  memories  cluster. 
To  the  Christian  tourist  from  any  countiy  in  the  world  it  is 
among  the  most  sacred  of  all  places  to  be  visited;  and  to  the 
student  and  disciple  of  Jesus  the  story  of  the  city  of  his  birth 
teems  with  perennial  interest. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  HOLY  CHILD 

The  Bible  is  unique  amid  contemporary  literature  in  the 
space  it  gives  to  childhood.  Homer,  for  instance,  has  almost 
nothing  of  childhood.  There  is  but  one  child  in  the  Iliad, 
and  there  is  none  in  the  Odyssey.  Virgil  sings  of  "arms  and 
the  man,"  but  the  sweetest  songs  of  the  Bible  are  sung  above 
a  cradle.  The  motto,  "Children  should  be  seen  and  not  heard," 
v^as  carried  to  extremes  in  the  old  days;  children  were  nowhere 
seen  in  the  writings  of  most  of  the  early  nations.  But  the 
Bible  abounds  in  stories  of  beautiful  childhood,  in  which 
motherhood  attains  new  glory,  and  manhood  new  dignity. 

Mr.  Wu  Ting  Fang,  who  ably  represented  China  at  Wash- 
ington and  charmed  America  with  his  versatility,  contrasted 
Christianity  and  Confucianism  by  saying  that  Confucius 
taught  men  to  respect  age,  while  Christianity  inculcates  rev- 
erence for  childhood.  Doubtless  we  respect  age  too  little  and 
permit  childhood  too  much  of  prominence  and  self-advertis- 
ing. But  it  may  be  said  without  unkindness  that  too  great 
respect  for  the  past  is  the  trouble  in  China,  while  the  charac- 
teristic of  American  life  is  its  faith  in  childhood  as  a  pledge 
of  the  future.  "A  little  child  shall  lead,"  and  does  lead  in  civili- 
zation. The  world  discovered  the  beauty  and  hope  of  child- 
hood in  the  face  of  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem. 

Joseph  and  Mary  tarried  at  Bethlehem  forty  days,  and  then, 
perhaps  in  February,  B.  C.  4,  presented  him  in  the  temple. 
There  were  two  ceremonies  to  be  observed  in  this  case.  The 
first  was  the  purification  of  Mary  according  to  the  rite  pre- 
scribed in  Leviticus  12.  For  this,  two  offerings  were  required: 
a  lamb  as  a  burnt  offering,  and  a  dove  as  a  sin  offering.  But, 
if  a  family  was  poor,  the  lamb,  which  cost  about  five  days' 
labor,  might  be  dispensed  with  and  another  dove  substituted. 

45 


46 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


Joseph  and  Mary  were  no  paupers,  but  they  were  in  humble 
circumstances,  and  they  brought  two  doves  which  cost  from 
two  to  eight  cents  each.  So  Jesus  first  appeared  pubHcly 
among  men  as  a  representative  of  God's  poor.  The  other 
ceremony  was  the  redemption  of  the  child  from  temple  service 
by  the  payment  of  five  shekels,  according  to  the  law  in  Num- 
bers i8:    15.  1 6.    This  tax  was  due  because  Jesus  was  an  eldest 


THE    DREAM     OF    JOSEPH — (mURILLO,     1617-1682) 

son.  While  there  in  the  temple,  an  aged  saint,  Simeon,  who 
had  been  waiting  in  hope  for  the  blessing  of  his  nation,  took 
the  child  in  his  arms,  and  broke  forth  in  the  song: 

Now  lettest  thon  thy  servant  depart,   O   Lord, 

According  to  thy  word,   in  peace; 

For   mine    eyes    have    seen    thy    salvation 

Which  thou  hast  prepared  before  the  face  of  all  peoples; 

A  light  for  revelation  to  the  Gentiles, 

And  the  glory  of  thy  people  Israel. 

—  (Luke  2:  29-32.) 


THE    HOLY    CHILD  47 

An  aged  prophetess  also,  Anna  by  name,  came  up,  and 
"gave  thanks  nnto  God,  and  spake  of  him  to  all  them  that 
were  looking  for  the  redemption  of  Jerusalem." 

Joseph  and  Mary  returned  to  Bethlehem  in  wonder.  Oth- 
ers beside  themselves  and  the  shepherds — the  visit  of  the  Magi 
probably  occurred  a  little  later — recognized    this    wonderful 


THE    IMMACULATE    CONCEPTION — (mURILLO,     1617-1682) 

child.     What  questions  and  anticipations  and  conjectures  must 
have  occupied  them  as  they  returned  from  the  temple! 

However  much  or  little  Joseph  and  Mary  understood  of  the 
nature  of  Jesus,  the  things  which  the  gospel  teaches  concern- 
ing him  are  made  reasonably  plain  to  us.  That  wdiich  was 
divine  in  Christ  was  born  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  by    that 


48 


JESUS    OF    NAZAKKTH 


power  the  worlds  were  made.  But  that  which  was  human  in 
Jesus,  his  blood,  his  brain,  his  forms  of  thought,  his  mode  of 
speech,  his  language,  his  race  instincts  and  customs  and  hab- 
its of  life,  came  to  him  normally  as  a  child  and  man,  subject  to 
the  normal  influences  of  heredity  and  youthful  training.  He 
probably  resembled  Mary,  not  merely  in  features  but  in  tem- 
perament, as  much  as  any  other  normal  child  resembles  his 
mother.  He  doubtless  resembled  his  countrymen  as  much  as 
the  ordinary  Jew,  so  that  a  Samaritan  woman  instantly  recog- 


MADONNA    'VNn   CHILD 
(W.    A.     BOUGEREAU,     1825 — ) 

nized  him  as  a  Jew.  But  he  was  more  than  the  son  of  Mary 
or  the  son  of  Abraham.  He  was  the  son  of  the  race,  its  hig-h- 
est  representative,  and  the  Son  of  God  the  Father. 

The  genealogies  of  Christ  as  given  by  Matthew  and  bv 
Luke  present  many,  and  at  present  insuperable,  dif^culties. 
We  are  not  sure  that  we  know  the  reason  for  their  tracing 
the  descent  of  Jesus  through  Joseph;  we  are  not  sure  that  we 
are  able  to  harmonize  their  data  with  that  given  in  other  parts 
of  the  Scriptures;  we  are  not  sure  that  we  are  able  to  account 
for  their  differences  one  from  the  other.     There  are  one  or  two 


THE    HOLY    CHILD 


49 


things,  however,  of  which  we  are  practically  certain,  one  of 
which  is  that  the  public  registers  of  the  time  of  Christ  made 
him  legally  the  descendant  of  David,  and  thus  to  the  Jews  a 
possible  fulfiller  of  the  promises  concerning  the  Messiah. 
Another  thing  that  is  significant  in  the  genealogy  of  Luke,  is 
that  the  evangelist  who  dwells  most  at  length  on  the  prenatal 


MADONNA    DEL    POZZO — (RAPHAEL,     I482-I52O) 


announcements  of  Christ's  divine  advent,  who  gives  the  songs 
of  the  angels  and  the  story  of  the  wonderful  birth,  traces  his 
divine  descent,  and  his  consequent  right  to  become  the  Saviour 
of  the  world,  through  Adam. 

Humanity  did   not    lose    its    capacity   for  divinity  by   the 
Adamic  fall.     Down  the  long  line  of  patriarchs  and  kings  and 


JESUS    OF    NAZARKTH 

prophets  and  judijes,  and  men  orood  and  bad.  from  ^reneration 
to  jjeneration  runs  the  royal  line,  and  at  each  end  of  it 
is  God.  Christ  was  divine  because  he  was  born  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  It  was  possible  for  him  thus  to  be  divine  because 
he  was  born  of  the  seed  of  Adam.  He  w^as  the  Son  of  God 
because  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  upon  Mary  his  mother. 
He  possessed  capacity  for  divineness  because  the  divine  image 
had  not  vet  disappeared  from  the  sons  of  Adam.  He  was 
divine  because  he  was  the  Son  of  God;  he  was  divine  notwith- 
standing the  fact,  and  perhaps  we  might  say.  if  we  knew  more, 


-•*SS^ 

Hk^ 

1'  v^r^u^llV''^^BiiM^^pi 

^^^3 

I^^^V 

l^^^^^^H 

^^^CvKil^^^H 

BlHn^nv 

^^^^n 

t    -.|ag. 

IH 

TIIH   VISIT   OF   THE   SHEPHERDS — (mURILLO.    1617-1682) 

because  of  the  fact,  that  he  was  the  grandson  of  Heli,  who  was 
the  son  of  Adam  who  was  the  son  of  God.  We  assent  rather 
grudgingly  to  the  humanity  of  Jesus,  hedging  lest  we  imply 
some  lack  of  faith  in  his  divinity,  but  Jesus  rejoiced  to  be 
known  as  the  Son  of  man.  As  the  Son  of  man  he  claimed 
lordship  over  the  Sabbath;  as  the  Son  of  man  he  claimed  the 
power  to  forgive  sins;  as  the  Son  of  man  he  promised  to  ascend 
to  the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  In  him  humanity  is  trans- 
figured. P.ecause  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God  he  had  power  to 
impart  new  life;  because  he  was  the  Son  of  Adam  he  became 
the  Saviour  of  men. 


THE    HOLY    CHILD 


51 


This  royal  child,  cominp:  to  his  own  nation,  found  the  throne 
of  David  in  ruins,  and  upon  those  ruins  stood  the  government 
of  the  Herods,  with  which  he  soon  had  a  perilous  encounter. 
The  house  of  Herod  was  founded  by  Antipater,  an  Idumc-ean 
o-overnor,  w^ho  by  the  growing  fortunes  of  Rome  found  his 
dominion  increased  till  he  became,  under  Rome,  the  head  of 
a  new  local  dynasty.  He  was  murdered  by  poisoning,  and 
followed  by  his  son  Herod  the  Great,  who  extended  his  father's 


^ 

^^hi^^^^^^^^^^^^h^^^^ 

ikl 

^i 

1^^ 

THE    MADONNA — (CARLO   DCLCI,     1616-1686) 


dominion  beyond  the  Jordan,  and  by  the  grace  of  his  power 
from  Rome  became  known  as  "Herod  the  king  of  the  Jews." 
Herod  himself  was  no  Jew.  "but  more  than  half  a  heathen 
alike  in  his  state  indifferentism  and  his  cosmopolitan  vices." 
but  he  married  a  beautiful  Asmona?an  princess  by  name 
Mariamne,  heiress  of  the  house  of  the  Maccabees.  So,  from 
the  position  of  a  frontier  governor  he  rose  to  something  like 
regal  dignitv,  and  every  step  of  his  ascent  to  the  throne  was 
stained  with  blood.     Once  recognized  as  king,  he  endeavored 


5^ 


JKSUS    OF    NAZARETH 


to  make  himself  secure  from  all  rivals,  chiefly  from  those  of 
the  Maccabxan  family,  and  mercilessly  murdered  not  only  his 
wife's  relatives,  but  his  wife  and  his  own  two  sons.  He  had  a 
long-  series  of  conHicts  and  tumults  with  zealots  representing 
the  old  Maccaba^an  pretensions,  but  one  by  one  he  put  them 
to  death,  and  for  many  years  reigned  in  freedom  from 
aspirants  to  the  throne.  Then,  when  all  the  AIaccab?san  rivals 
or  possible  rivals  were  dead,  and  Herod's  own  end  drew  near, 
a  sinsfular  thingf  occurred. 


RESTING    ON    THE    WAV    TO    EGYPT — (s.     BENZ,     1834) 

From  a  foreign  land  came  wise  men  seeking  the  new-born 
King  of  the  Jews.  He  was  no  descendant  of  the  Maccabees, 
but  of  David.  Herod  had  never  concerned  himself  with 
David's  right  to  the  throne.  The  statute  of  limitations  seemed 
to  have  set  all  that  at  rest.  Not  for  four  hundred  years  had 
any  one  concerned  himself  with  the  question  of  the  right  to 
rule  because  of  descent  from  David.  Herod  met  the  issue 
with  characteristic  vigor  and  cruelty.  He  put  to  death  all  the 
male  children  in  and  about  Bethlehem  from  two  vears  old  and 


THE    HOLY    CHILD 


53 


under.  He  had  put  many  people  to  death  by  strangulation, 
burning,  cleaving  asunder  and  secret  assassination,  and  ever}- 
gross  and  brutal  element  in  his  character  had  found  free  rein 
during  his  life.  But  this  was  his  last  massacre.  On  the  first 
of  April,  in  the  year  4  B.  C,  he  died.  Fearful  that  none  would 
mourn  over  his  departure,   as  he  was  dying  at    Jericho,    he 


COPTIC    CHURCH    IN    OLD    CAIRO 


caused  a  number  of  the  chief  men  of  the  Jews  to  be  assembled 
there  that  they  might  be  put  to  death  when  he  died,  that  their 
relatives  and  friends  at  least  might  mourn.  So  far  as  is 
recorded  none  others  wept  when  Herod  died;  and  happily  the 
mourning  for  these  men  was  turned  to  joy,  for  they  were 
released  bv  Salome  after  the  death  of  Herod. 


54 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


The  bloodthirsty  plot  against  the  infant  Jesus  did  not  suc- 
ceed. Joseph  and  Mary  had  taken  the  child  and  fled  with 
him  to  Egypt.  The  reign  of  the  Ptolemies  had  been  favorable 
to  the  immigration  of  the  Jews,  of  whom  many  thousands  at 
this  time  were  in  Egypt.  They  comprised  nearly  half  of  the 
city  of  Alexandria,  and  had  many  colonies  on  the  land  of  the 
Nile.  Somewhere  among  these  people  of  their  own  land 
Joseph  and  Mary  could  find  friends. 


THE   REPOSE    IN    EGYPT — (VAN    DYCK,    I599-1641) 

Tt  was  three  hundred  miles  from  Bethlehem  to  Egypt,  but 
the  Roman  roads  were  good,  and  Egypt  was  the  best  of  all 
places  of  refuge  for  Joseph  and  Mary.  It  took  them  directly 
away  from  their  own  home  and  from  Jerusalem,  and  brought 
them  out  of  Herod's  jurisdiction  to  a  land  where  their  country- 
men were  free  citizens  and  they  could  dwell  securely. 

There  is  a  little  Coptic  church  in  Cairo,  very  old  and  quaint, 
beneath  whose  altar  is  a  grotto  declared  by  tradition  to  have 
been  that  where  Mary  and  her  child  reposed.  We  do  not  need 
to  trust  the  tradition,  which  is  far  more  likely  to  be  false  than 


THE    HOLY    CHILD 


55 


true,  but  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  for  a  good  many  centu- 
ries a  spot  has  been  marked  near  the  apex  of  the  Delta  as 
that  where  Joseph  and  Mary  made  their  temporary  home. 

A  modern  French  artist  has  made  a  painting  called  "The 
Repose  in  Egypt,"  which,  while  open  to  some  criticism,  is  still 
strikingly  impressive.  It  shows  the  Sphinx  standing  on  the 
edge  of  the  desert  looking  out  over  the  solemn  waste,  patiently 
expectant  and  serene.  The  night  is  dark  above  and  only  the 
stars  give  light,  which  represents  tradition  and  philosophy 
shedding  their  faint  gleam  upon  the  silent  world  below.     But 


THE  REPOSE  IX   EGYPT — (OLIVER  L.    MERSON,    1846 — ) 

between  the  great  paws  of  the  Sphinx  and  near  to  its  heart, 
rest  Mary  and  her  child,  and  a  faint  but  prophetic  light 
streams  from  the  little  one.  At  the  base  of  the  Sphinx  lies 
Joseph  sleeping,  but  guarding  his  wife  and  her  baby,  and  close 
at  hand  the  patient  ass  grazes  on  the  little  vegetation  he  can 
find  for  the  morrow's  journey.  Meantime  the  stars  shine  on, 
and  the  light  that  streams  from  the  child  has  new  hope  for 
men;  for  "There  was  the  true  light,  even  the  light  which 
lighteth  every  man,  coming  into  the  world." 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MARY  AND  THE  SHOP  OF  JOSEPH 

The  world's  best  things  have  come  out  of  its  Nazareths.  As 
an  army  needs  continual  reinforcement  from  its  own  rear,  so 
the  life  of  the  cities  is  constantly  rejuvenated  by  the  fresh  blood 
of  the  villages  and  farms.  Civilization  marks  its  progress  by 
the  life  of  its  cities,  but  the  city  depends  upon  the  village  and 
the  country,  not  merely  for  its  sustenance,  but  for  its  life. 
After  Bethlehem,  no  village  in  Palestine  so  teems  with  interest 
as  Nazareth.  Yet  Nazareth  was  not  a  noted  village,  even  in 
its  best  days.  The  caravans  from  Damascus  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean passed  near  it.  and  never  suspected  its  existence.  The 
long,  laden  lines  of  camels  journeying  northward  from  Egypt 
and  southward  from  Babylonia,  passed  close  by  it.  but  rarely 
heard  or  thought  of  it.  But  if  the  caravans  knew  little  of 
Nazareth,  the  village  knew  much  about  the  caravans,  and  its 
own  life  was  kept  in  touch  with  that  of  the  outer  world  by 
the  intelligence  which  it  received  and  the  commerce  which  it 
established  by  the  passing  flow  of  life  and  traf^c.  A  little 
island  in  the  midst  of  the  sea  of  contemporary  life,  it  was 
washed  on  every  side  by  these  tides  of  commercial  and  political 
activity  that  rose  and  fell  unconscious  of  its  presence. 

We  do  not  read  of  Nazareth  in  the  Old  Testament.  If  it 
existed  in  those  days,  the  fact  is  concealed  from  our  knowledge. 
Indeed,  it  would  have  remained  unknown  through  New  Testa- 
ment times  as  well,  but  for  the  life  of  one  family  within  it. 
The  question  of  Nathan.Tl.  "Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of 
Nazareth?"  (John  i:  46)  is  an  instructive  commentary  on  the 
obscurity  of  the  village,  and  has  wrongly  been  used  to  sug- 
gest that  Nazareth  was  also  in  some  way  disreputable. 
Matthew  in  telling  us  that  Jesus  made  his  boyhood  residence 
there,  sought  to  find  in  prophecv  some  prediction  of  the  fact 

56 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MARY  AND  THE  SHOP  OF  JOSEPH        57 

and  place,  and  quoted,  "He  should  be  called  a  Nazarene"  (Matt. 
2:  23).  We  do  not  know  of  any  such  prediction,  however;  the 
nearest  we  can  come  to  finding  such  a  word  is  in  Judges  13:  5, 
where  it  is  said  of  Samson,  "The  child  shall  be  a  Nazirite." 
But  Samson  was  not  Jesus,  and  a  Nazarene  is  not,  of  necessity. 


A    GROUP    OF    NAZARETH     MAIDENS 


a  Nazirite.  The  words  have  their  entirely  separate  signifi- 
cance. We  are  tolerably  familiar  with  the  exegesis  of  New 
Testament  times,  and  need  not  be  at  all  surprised  to  discover 
only  a  verbal  resemblance  as  the  probable  basis  of  this  sup- 
posed fulfilment  of  prophecy.  The  name  Nazareth  is  thought 
to  have  been  derived  from  the  word  "white."  and  to  refer  to 
the  color  of  the  limestone  cliffs  about  it.      It   is  sometimes 


58  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

believed  to  have  been  derived  from  the  word  "watch-tower"; 
and  this,  also,  would  have  been  a  most  appropriate  derivation, 
for  Nazareth  was  indeed  a  watch-tower,  lookins^  out  upon  the 
passing  procession  of  the  ages.  lUu  the  earlx-  fathers  delighted 
in  the  belief  that  the  name  means  "flower,"  and  this,  too, 
would  be  an  appropriate  derivation,  for  the  country  about  it  is 
golden  with  chrysanthemums,  and  scarlet  with,  madder  and 
poppy  and  anemone.  Whatever  the  meaning  of  the  name,  it 
has  no  connection  with  the  sect  of  the  Nazirites,  and  Jesus 
was  not  a  Nazirite.  The  watch-tower  village  of  Galilee, 
sheltered  by  its  hills  of  white  and  enshrined  in  its  floral  fields — 
such  was  the  Nazareth  of  our  Lord's  day.  The  modern  Naza- 
reth, too,  is  a  beautiful  and  attractive  village. 

The  company  with  which  I  visited  Palestine  came  to 
Nazareth  by  carriage  from  the  seacoast.  A  good  road, 
repaired  for  the  German  emperor,  and  unlikely  to  be  repaired 
again  until  some  other  king  visits  Palestine,  leads  from  Haifa 
to  the  city  of  our  Lord's  boyhood.  Skirting  the  edge  of  Mount 
Carmel,  it  follows  the  grade  of  the  projected  railroad  from 
the  Mediterranean  to  Damascus,  which  road  the  sultan  had 
interdicted  lest  it  should  defeat  his  own  hope  of  a  railroad  to 
Mecca,  and  only  recently  is  said  to  have  consented  to  its  com- 
pletion. Crossing  the  Kishon,  where  Elijah  slew  the  prophets 
of  Baal,  and  tarrying  for  lunch  at  Harosheth  of  the  Gentiles, 
where  Jael  slew  Sisera  with  a  tent-pin,  a  deed  which  Deborah 
immortalized  in  song  (Judges  5:  24-31),  we  emerged  into  the 
fertile  plain  of  Esdraelon.  Gradually  we  left  Carmel  behind  us, 
a  long,  low-lying  ridge  with  its  leonine  headland  jutting  out 
into  the  sea.  Ahead,  and  to  the  right,  rose  the  rounded 
summit  of  Mount  Tabor,  the  traditional,  but  improbable,  scene 
of  the  Transfiguration.  Mount  Gilboa,  where  Saul  and 
Jonathan  met  defeat  and  death,  stood  between  us  and  the 
Jordan  valley.  To  the  north  and  east  rose  range  after  range 
of  hills,  with  Mount  Hermon,  snow-crowned  and  brilliant, 
above  them  all.  The  valley,  now  green  with  wheat,  had  been 
red  with  many  a  battle.  The  hills  about  were  eloquent  with 
memories  of  Israel's  historv.     Scene  after  scene  from  the  Old 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MARY  AND  THE  SHOP  OF  JOSEPH         59 

Testament  and  the  New  took  shape  in  our  imagination,  as  one 
spot  after  another  was  identified.  It  seemed  as  though  the 
half  of  Bible  history  must  have  been  associated  with  the  places 
in  range  of  our  vision.  With  all  this  brought  vividly  before 
the  mind's  eye,  we  rose  among  the  hills,  and  suddenly,  in  a  basin 
of  the  surrounding  mountains,  Nazareth  burst  upon  our  view. 
We  might  easily  have  gone  by  it  without  knowing  it  was 
there,  but  we  could  not  have  gone  by  without  being  discov- 
ered, if  any  one  in  Nazareth  had  cared  to  discover  us. 


CHURCH    OF    THE    CARPENTER    SHOP    OF    JOSEPH 


This  single  fact  of  its  situation  brought  to  the  mind  at  once 
the  advantage  of  Nazareth  as  a  place  for  the  boyhood  of  Jesus. 
A  town  unspoiled  by  the  outer  world,  yet  aware  of  all  its  char- 
acteristic movements;  situated  in  the  midst  of  historic  scenes 
and  fertile  fields;  inspired  by  memories  of  the  past  and  impelled 
by  the  life  of  its  own  generation,  such  is  Nazareth. 

Nazareth  is  now  a  town  of  about  ten  thousand  inhabitants, 
predominantly  Christian.  The  people  are  energetic  and 
vivacious.     The  women  are  unveiled,  and  dress  in  picturesque 


6o 


JESUS    Ol-    NAZARETH 


costumes,  which,  by  comparison  with  those  of  the  Moslem 
villages,  may  be  called  brilliant.  The  women  commonly  wear 
a  simple  blue  frock,  loosely  gathered  with  a  sash  at  the  waist, 
and  a  kerchief  tied  over  the  head.  They  are  fond  of  orna- 
ments, and  generally  wear  necklaces.  One  does  not  so  often 
see  here  the  strings  of  coins  that  so  characterize  the  women 
of  Bethlehem.  Tn  their  holiday  costumes,  the  women  affect 
more  bright  and  contrasting  colors.  \\'hile  not  particularly 
handsome  of  face,  they  exhi1)it  regularitv  of  feature  and  an 
erect  and  graceful  carriage. 


M.VDONXA — (GADKIEI-    M.\X.     184O — ) 

Nazareth  has  but  one  spring,  known  as  the  Fountain  of 
the  Virgin.  On  the  way  to  this  well  the  women  may  be  seen 
passing  and  repassing,  all  day  long,  the  empty  water-pots 
Iving  flat  upon  their  heads,  and  the  full  ones  tilted  at  a  graceful 
angle.  Seldom  does  a  girl  raise  her  hand  to  steady  a  water-pot, 
whether  full  or  empty,  and  she  seems  to  be  even  less  conscious 
of  it  when  w^alking  than  standing  still.  This  spring  is  the  one 
incontestably  genuine  place  in  the  village,  for  the  town  has 
more  than  once  been  destroyed,  and  its  present  location,  as 
the  tombs  and   ruins  attest,  is  a  little  farther  down   the   hill 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MARY  AND  THE  SHOP  OF  JOSEPH        6i 

than  in  former  centuries.  The  springy  must  always  have  been 
the  center  of  social  life,  and  with  a  very  little  conjuring  of  the 
imai;ination  one  may  discern  in  these  Nazareth  maidens  a 
more  than  fanciful  resemblance  to  Mary  the  maiden  of 
Nazareth.  To  this  same  spring  and  along  these  same  narrow 
highways,  fenced  in  by  walls  of  this  same  limestone,  she  made 
her  daily  pilgrimage  to  the  spring  and  back,  carrying  her 
water-pot. 

Voluble  guides  stand  in  readiness  to  show  one  many  things 
in  Nazareth  associated  wdth  the  boyhood  life  of  Christ.  The 
Church   of    the   Annunciation   undertakes    to   point   out     the 


NAZARETH    THE   BEAUTIFUL 


precise  spot  where  Mary  stood  when  the  angel  came  to  her, 
and  there  is  an  underground  series  of  chambers  showing  the 
Virgin's  kitchen  and  the  chamber  of  Joseph,  and  much  more 
that  is  of  interest  to  the  credulous,  but  which  spoils  the  story 
more  or  less  for  those  wdio  merely  desire  to  make  real  in  their 
thought  the  simple  events  of  the  gospel  narrative,  by  visiting 
the  scenes  where  they  occurred.  A  church  covers  the  alleged 
foundation  of  the  carpenter  shop  of  Joseph,  and  he  who  is 
interested  may  find  there  an  ancient  foundation  surmounted 
by  a  modern  church  edifice,  wherein  abide  reverence,  credulity 
and  cupidity,  in  a  proportion  which  I  will  not  undertake  to 


62  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

determine.  But  a  better  thing  may  be  found  in  the  genuine 
carpenter  shops  of  Nazareth,  wherein,  with  crude  tools,  men 
labor  as  they  labored  in  Joseph's  day,  in  the  making  of  the 
simple  farming  implements,  whose  manufacture  and  repair 
form  the  principal  labor  of  the  carpenter.  There  are  few  things 
in  modern  Mazareth  more  inspiring  than  these  carpenter  shops 
where  one  may  reconstruct  in  imagination  the  boyhood  and 
youth  of  Jesus,  under  the  wholesome  discipline  of  Joseph. 

Joseph  was  a  carpenter,  but  that  does  not  mean  that  he 
was  a  man  to  be  despised.  The  Scripture  references  to  him 
are  not  numerous,  but  they  show  him  to  have  been  a  knightly, 
princely  gentleman,  without  fear  and  without  reproach.  He 
was  a  man  of  resolution,  and  of  resources.  He  could  plan  a 
long  journey;  could  provide  for  earning  his  living  in  a  strange 
land;  he  was  willing  to  leave  his  labor  and  make  all  necessary 
sacrifice  to  promote  the  well-being  of  the  young  child.  With 
the  unerring  instinct  of  a  true  gentleman,  Joseph  stood  by  a 
pure,  sweet  woman  in  distress,  and  covered  what  would  have 
been  considered  her  shame,  but  was  her  glory,  with  the  ample 
mantle  of  his  own  honest  name.  Through  him  her  honor 
remained  unsullied. 

This  carpenter,  wdiom  you  see  at  the  bench  with  his  sleeves 
rolled  up,  pushing  his  plane,  is  a  very  Saul  among  men.  Nay, 
look  again,  and  the  bench  is  a  throne.  The  blood  of  the 
Davidic  kings  which  flows  in  his  veins  has  become  purified  by 
generations  of  honest  labor.  This  man,  Joseph,  is  a  man  of 
regal  dignity. 

Joseph  was  Jesus'  tutor.  He  taught  him  his  trade.  He 
borrowed  books  for  him  from  the  synagogue.  He  helped  him 
into  manhood,  and  sought  him  with  much  solicitude,  when  he 
tarried  at  the  temple.  For  years  he  cared  for  Jesus;  protecting 
him,  teaching  him,  establishing  him  in  business,  doing  a 
father's  duty  by  him.  Never  once  does  the  record  give  evi- 
dence of  his  failing  in  any  task,  difficult  as  was  his  position. 
He  needs  no  halo  to  add  to  the  simple  dignity  of  his  man- 
hood— Joseph  the  honest,  courteous,  knightly  man.  the  car- 
penter of  Nazareth, 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MARY  AND  THE  SHOP  OF  JOSEPH        63 


We  may  be  too  ready  to  assume  that  to  be  the  husband  of 
a  madonna  is  to  enjoy  heaven  on  earth.  At  first  sight  it  seems 
unaccountable  that  the  husbands  of  the  best  wives  in  the  world 
do  not  always  secure  unalloyed  satisfaction  out  of  the  relation. 
It  affords  a  man  but  moderate  gratification  to  have  his  wife 
uncomfortablv  better  or  wiser  than  himself.     I  am  not  sure 


BETROTHAL    OF    JOSEPH    ANY)    MARY 
(RAFHAEL,     HS3-I52O) 

that  Joseph's  position  was  always  one  of  pleasure.  To  have 
to  give  up  one's  business  and  hasten  into  Egypt,  and  there 
remain  perhaps  for  a  period  of  years;  to  come  back  to 
Nazareth  and  start  over  again,  and  establish  a  new  trade  in  the 
face  of  competition,  may  not  have  been  wholly  to  his  liking. 
He  did  not  understand  all  that   Mary  was  pondering  in  her 


64  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

heart;  but  he  understood  his  simple  duty,  and  to  the  end  he 
performed  it. 

It  was  Joseph  who  taught  the  youthful  Christ  his  trade,  and 
showed  him  how  to  saw  to  the  line  and  plane  to  an  even  sur- 
face. It  was  he  who  sent  the  lad  to  the  village  school  in  the 
synagogue,  and  sometimes  in  the  evening  taught  him  further 
in  the  lore  of  his  nation,  fulfilling  the  commands  of  Moses 
for  fathers  to  teach  their  children.  The  childish  fingers  of 
Jesus  followed  Joseph's  thick  and  calloused  hand  and  traced 
from  right  to  left  the  lines  of  the  great  square  Hebrew  letters 
on  the  parchment  rolls  which  he  borrowed  from  the  synagogue, 
or  bought  from  his  earnings,  that  Joseph  himself  might  better 
know  the  law,  whose  rudiments  he  must  teach  to  Jesus.  It  was 
Joseph  who  was  known  as  his  father,  and  who  did  a  father's 
duties  for  him  for  thirty  years,  till  he  w-as  a  master  carpenter, 
and  had  become  of  age,  and  was  ready  to  enter  life.  Aye,  there 
was  the  sorrow  and  the  mystery  and  the  hope,  for  it  was  not 
as  a  carpenter  that  he  went  forth.  Joseph  had  trained  him  for 
something  that  took  him  forever  from  the  bench,  and  made 
him,  Joseph  knew  not  what. 

It  is  written  that  wdien  the  visitors  came  and  found  the 
Christ-child,  "they  worshiped  him" — not  Mary.  Doubtless, 
she  was  well  content  to  have  it  so.  A  mother's  constant 
surprise  is  that  she  can  possibly  be  the  mother  of  so  wonderful 
a  child.  When  people  bow  down  before  the  baby  and  forget 
her,  they  do  only  what  she  herself  has  done  and  is  doing.  But 
once  in  a  long  time  there  enters  her  heart  a  little  feeling  of 
wonder  why  it  is  so,  and  of  craving  for  some  of  the  afifection 
which  is  so  lavished  upon  the  little  one,  and  she  deserves  it. 

Mary  of  Nazareth  was  sincere,  calm,  devoted,  affectionate  and 
pure.*  And  her  woman's  heart  was  all  a-flutter  with  her  first 
love  that  lifted  her  out  of  her  girlhood  and  made  her  a  woman; 
and  that  heart  was  deep  and  true  and  pure  enough  to  enable 
the  angel  of  God  to  whisper  in  her  ear  the  most  glorious  and 
solemn  secret  which  is  ever  told  on  earth,  and  that  never  to 
a  man. 


*I  quote,  with  some  slight  changes,  in  this  chapter,  from  my  little  book 
"The  Home  of  a  Madonna." 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MARY  AND  THE  SHOP  OF  JOSEPH        65 

"Blessed  art  thou  among  women."  The  angel  said  so,  and 
Mary  believed  him.  But  a  sword  pierced  her  own  heart  ere 
her  blessing-  reaHzed  itself.  It  was  not  wholly  because  her 
experience  was  unique;  it  was  largely  so  in  its  universal  char- 
acter.    All  mothers  know  something  of  her  alternating  high 


JOSEPH    AND   THE  BOY   JESUS 
(C.\RL    MULLER,     1 839- 1 893) 

hope  and  her  sinking  of  heart.  Sh.e  was  a  village  maiden 
yesterday,  and  life  was  sweet  and  full  of  hope;  a  larger  hope 
has  come  to  her  than  that  she  dreamed  of,  and  because  of  it; 
but  her  girlhood  has  gone,  and  a  new  and  measureless  respon- 
sibilit}^  was  impending. 

She  kept    no  "help."     She  was  a  quiet,  domestic  woman. 
But  she  was  not  simply  a  household  drudge.     She  knew  the 


66 


JRSUS    OF    NAZARETH 


writings  of  the  great  poets  of  her  nation.  She  had  a  fine  mind, 
with  a  love  of  beauty,  a  sonl  that  had  learned  and  Hngered 
over  the  great  literary  masterpieces  of  Israel,  and  had  given 
poetic  form  to  high  thoughts  that  rose  in  her  own  heart.  She 
was  no  stupid  or  silly  or  shallow  girl;  even  as  a  maiden  she 
was  thoughtful  and  earnest. 

Who  can  know,  save  a  mother,  all  that  is  in  a  woman's 
heart  when  the  angel  says  to  her,  "The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come 
upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow 
thee:  wherefore  that  which  is  to  he  born  shall  l)e  called  a  child 
of  God''^^     There  are  some  accents  of    the  angel's    messao^e 


MOUNT   CARMEL 


that  are  repeated  in  the  ear  of  all  sweet  and  expectant  mother- 
hood; there  are  some  strains  from  the  ^Magnificat  which  should 
be  sung  above  every  cradle;  there  are  some  of  Mary's  joys  and 
sorrows,  some  of  her  wonderings  and  hopes  that  all  true 
mothers  realize. 

Well  may  the  brush  of  the  artist  seek  the  purest,  sweetest 
faces  of  young  mothers,  and  transfer  them  to  canvas.  Thev 
cannot  too  reverently  or  too  beautifully  set  forth  the  ideal  face 
of  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus. 

Mary  had  her  trials.  To  see  her  baby  grow  up  is  the  sad 
joy  of  a  mother.  To  have  him  no  longer  her  baby,  but  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  was  a  joy  to  Mary  that  had  in  it  a 
distinct  sense  of  loss.  To  have  him  growing  up  so  thoughtful, 
so   wise,   so   given   to   asking   cpiestions   which   she   could   not 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MARY  AND  THE  SHOP  OF  JOSEPH         67 

answer,  to  find  herself  wishing  a  dozen  times  a  day  that  she 
were  wiser  for  her  child's  sake,  this,  as  every  mother  knows, 
was  not  to  Mary  an  unmitigated  joy. 


M^ 

\ 

\ 

^*v^.-r 

the  visit  of  mary  to  elizabeth 
(m.  albertinelli,  1474-1515) 

And  oh,  the  time  was  to  come  when  she  would  feel  that  he 
had  outgrown  her!  His  ideals  and  hers  were  no  longer  akin. 
He  would  gently  rebuke  her  chiding  with  his  "Wist  ye  not  that 
I  must  be  about  my  Father's  business?"  and  restrain  her  too 
eager  ambition  for  her  son  by  asking,  "What  have  I  to  do 
with  thee?"     What  had  she  to  do  with  him?     Why,  she  was 


68  JESUS    OF    NAZARRTIl 

Ills  mother.  How  could  she  know,  how  ccnild  she  he  expected 
to  understand,  that  he  that  (hd  the  will  of  Clod,  the  same  was 
his  n.iother.  his  hrother  or  his  sister?  Of  all  the  keenest 
sorrows  of  motherhood  is  there  one  greater  than  that  which 
the  mother  feels  when  she  realizes  that  her  baby  is  no  longer 
hers  alone;  that  the  very  realization  of  her  hopes  lias  taken 
him  away  from  her? 

There  is  a  tradition  that  Joseph  was  much  older  than  }^Iary, 
and  thus  many  of  the  artists  represent  him.  The  tradition  has 
no  historic  foundation.  It  i^rows  out  of  the  fact  th;it  the  New 
Testament  speaks  of  Jesus  as  having  brothers  and  sisters. 
Reluctance  to  believe  that  Mary  had  other  children  has  led 
to  the  invention  of  a  previous  marriage  on  the  part  of  Joseph. 
There  is  no  ground  for  such  a  belief,  nor  any  need  of  it.  So 
far  as  the  Bible  hints,  ''the  Lord's  brethren,"  who  were  three 
or  more  in  number,  and  his  sisters,  of  wh.om  there  were  at 
least  two  and  probably  not  less  than  three,  were  children  of 
Joseph  and  Mary.  It  was  a  family  of  probably  nine  or  more, 
and  of  the  seven  or  more  children,  Jesus  was  the  oldest.  Jesus 
grew  up  among  the  other  children  wath  whom  he  had  to  share 
the  privileges  of  the  humble  home,  and  to  whom  he  was  sim- 
ply, but  splendidly,  a  brother,  and  in  learning  to  be  their  elder 
brother,  he  became  the  elder  brother  of  all  men. 

Reverently,  in  our  imagination,  we  may  reconstruct  that 
home,  the  only  home  that  Jesus  remembered,  and  make  real  to 
ourselves  as  we  may,  the  conditions  of  its  daily  life.  We  may 
be  misled  as  to  the  details,  but  of  the  essential  facts  we  have 
little  doubt.  Jesus  grew  in  wisdom  and  in  stature  and  in  favor 
with  God  and  man.  Among  the  influences  which  prepared 
him  for  his  life-work  were  the  home  of  Marv  and  the  shop  of 
Joseph. 

The  early  Church  was  not  content  with  the  silence  of  the 
gospel  concerning  the  boyhood  of  Jesus,  and  set  itself  to 
supplying  the  missing  information  from  an  imagination  that 
gloated  over  the  marvelous.  Jesus  when  a  child  made  clay 
sparrows  on  the  Sabbath,  and  when  reproved  for  such  a  dese- 
cration  of  the  day  caused   the  birds  to   fly.      Joseph   was  an 


THE  HOUSE  OF  MARY  AND  THE  SHOP  OF  JOSEPH         69 

inferior  carpenter,  and  his  shop  turned  out  bad  work,  but  he 
would  take  hokl  of  one  side  and  Jesus  of  the  other  side  of  a 
badly-made  article,  and  pull    it  into    shape.     Jesus  went    to 


THE  FOUNTAIN   OF  THE  VIRGIN   IN    NAZARETH 

school,  and  knew  more  than  his  teacher.  Jesus  behaved  him- 
self in  an  overbearing-  manner  toward  his  playmates,  and  when 
they  disliked  him,  used  his  divine  powder  for  their  confusion,  so 
that  Joseph  was  nearly  driven  from  Nazareth  by  reason  of  the 


JO  JESUS   OF   NAZARETH 

hostility  which  the  work  of  Jesus  produced.  Such  stories 
present  an  unlovely  character,  and  we  wonder  how  they  could 
even  have  seemed  worth  inventing,  or,  being  invented,  how 
they  could  have  been  believed. 

Happily  we  have  no  such  accounts  as  these  in  the  Gospels, 
and  we  may  be  certain  that  they  are  wide  of  the  truth.  When 
Jesus  returned  in  manhood  to  his  boyhood  home  he  faced  no 
such  record  of  vouthful  arrogance  and  precocity.  People  were 
unprepared  for  anv  remarkal)le  claim  on  his  part,  which  shows 
that  his  youth  had  been  the  youth  of  a  normal  Jewish  boy. 
The  testimony  of  John,  "I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee." 
though  John  did  not  know  him  to  be  the  Messiah,  is  clear 
proof  that  John  had  knowledge  of  his  virtuous  and  noble 
youth,  but  this  is  the  only  claim  John  was  justified  in  making 
for  his  boyhood.  John  certainly  had  no  knowledge  of  his 
divine  nature  at  this  time.  He  increased  in  wisdom  by  improv- 
ing his  opportunities,  and  increased  in  stature  by  hard 
physical  labor;  he  increased  in  favor  w'ith  God  and  man 
through  no  freakish  manifestation  of  superhuman  power,  but 
by  the  persuasive  and  undeniable  excellence  of  a  worthy  and 
inconspicuous  life. 


ON    THE    WAY    Til    IJKTH  I.E  H  KM  —  (j.     I'nKlAELS,     iSlS — ) 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  LAD  IN  THE  TEMPLE 

A  half  dozen  miles  north  of  Jerusalem  is  a  village  called 
El-Bireh,  near  which  is  an  excellent  spring  with  the  remains 
of  an  ancient  reservoir,  and  not  far  from  these  are  the  ruins 
of  an  ancient  khan.  A  Christian  church  was  established  here 
by  the  Templars  in  1146,  and  a  little  of  it  is  now  standing. 
About  a  thousand  people  dwell  now  in  El-Bireh.  The  place  is 
of  no  particular  historic  importance,  save  through  its  associa- 
tion with  a  tradition  which  though  not  a  very  old  one,  is  still  of 
interest.  From  the  14th  century  this  place  has  been  displayed 
to  pilgrims  as  the  camping  place  of  Joseph  and  Mary  on  their 
return  journey  from  Jerusalem.  There  is  nothing  improbable 
in  the  tradition;  the  presence  of  the  spring  and  the  fact  that 
pilgrims  and  caravans  found  it  a  convenient  camping  place, 
gave  rise  to  the  conjecture  that  this  might  have  been  the  place 
where  the  absence  of  Jesus  from  the  caravan  was  discovered. 
The  parents  of  Jesus  had  gone  "a  day's  journey  from  Jerusa- 
lem." It  was  the  custom  of  Jews  in  making  long  journeys  to 
go  a  short  distance  on  the  first  day,  largely  for  the  reason 
that  anything  left  behind  might  the  more  readily  be  sent  for. 
As  the  modern  pilgrim  journeys  northward  from  Jerusalem, 
the  objects  of  interest  near  the  citv  commonly  consume  what 
is  left  of  the  day  after  starting;  and  so  El-Bireh  with  its  spring 
is  still  a  favorite  camping  place. 

In  my  own  journey  from  Galilee  we  paused  here  for 
luncheon,  and  from  this  spot  took  our  last  happy  and  expectant 
stage  of  the  pilgrimage  toward  the  Holy  City. 

Much  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus  was  spent  in  traveling.  The 
Jerusalem  feasts  called  every  man  to  present  himself  three 
times  a  year  at  the  temple.  A  number  of  these  feasts  Jesus 
personally  attended,   and  besides  this  he   made   frequent   pil- 

71 


72 


JESUS    OF    XAZARKTII 


grimages  that  covered  nearly  all  of  Galilee,  much  of  JncLnea 
and  a  portion  of  Samaria  and  the  region  beyond  Jordan. 

Facilities  for  travel  were  none  of  the  best,  but  had  been 
greatly  improved  by  the  system  of  Roman  roads.  The  main 
highways  were  kept  in  a  state  of  reasonable  repair  for  govern- 
mental purposes.     One  of  these  great  arteries  of  national  life 


THE    BOY   JESUS — (mURILLO,    1617-1682) 

Joseph  and  his  family  would  liave  struck  near  Shechem.  if  thev 
came  through  Samaria,  and  had  followed  it  from  there  to 
Jerusalem.  The  country  roads  which  led  into  this  thorough- 
fare were  generally  mere  rocky  bridle-paths.  The  same  con- 
dition of  roads  exists  very  largely  at  the  present  day  in 
Palestine. 

Most  of  the  pilgrims  on  tliese  great  journeys  went  on  foot. 
Where  animals  were  employed,  they  were  princii^all}-  donkeys. 


THE    LAD    ]N    THE  TEMPLI': 


71> 


It  is  (luite  unlikely  that  many  camels  were  used  in  these  festal 
processions.  The  donkeys  were  less  frequently  ridden  than 
used  for  the  transportation  of  camp  equipage. 

In  these  journeys  it  is  probable  that  many  of  the  tourists 
stopped  by  the  way  in  homes  where  they  had  acquaintances. 
The  injunction  '"Forget  not  to  shew  love  unto  strangers"  had 
a  standing  and  special  meaning"  in  such  a  country  as  Palestine. 
Not  only  the  Bible  but  the  rabbis  exhorted  the  people  to  hos- 
pitality.    We  find  in  ancient   writings  words  such   as   these: 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I^^^^^HE^^SiH^^rv^^^*^  - 1^^^^"-!^  ^t^^L^Sm^wStP¥^\ 

-      ^-^^-.-^^^^-.^^^^^.^:^ .  ..^.    /:: 

'-J'.-I^P*^^ 

-   ^:^^,^^m^^^^>^  ^  ^ 

"''■tJ.^^^^K^^SB^^^^^^^''\'''?Fi^'''''"-~'^~'' 

■■■■  '^"■-'-^, 

^■1                      ^ 

•—              ...            •    .   -"""'  V              __    -■vv>t:''>.    ,■:-:- ::.^':'i 

JERUSALEM    FROM    MOUNT    SCOPUS 


"Let  thy  house  be  wide  open,  and  let  the  poor  be  the  children 
of  thy  house."  Bethphage  and  Bethany  were  especially  noted 
for  their  hospitality;  and  in  Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  the  feasts 
it  was  customary  for  private  houses  to  hang  out  curtains  to 
indicate  that  there  still  was  room. 

In  spite  of  these  liberal  provisions  for  the  entertainment  of 
strangers,  however,  a  majority  of  the  pilgrims  to  the  passover 
would  need  to  make  their  own  arrangements  for  comfort  on 
their  journeys.  We  cannot  forget  that  at  the  time  of  the 
enrolment  Bethlehem  was  so  overcrowded  that  Joseph  could 
not  procure  a  lodging  place  for  himself  and  Mary,  even  in  their 


74  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

great  necessity.  Many  people  found  shelter  in  khans.  In 
these  no  charge  was  commonly  made  for  shelter,  but  some  one 
attached  to  the  khan,  who  was  usually  a  foreigner,  was 
ready  to  provide,  for  payment,  such  things  as  were  necessary. 
The  good  Samaritan  cared  for  the  man  who  had  fallen  among 
thieves  until  the  time  of  his  own  leaving,  but  paid  for  his 
entertainment  and  care  after  that  time.  In  these  places  were 
kept  for  sale  such  food  as  locusts,  pickled  or  fried  in  honey  or 


THE   VALLEY    OF   JEHOSHAI'HAT 


flour,  and  also  flour  or  bread,  though  these  were  frequently 
taken  by  the  pilgrims  themselves.  Babylonian  beer  and 
home-made  wine  or  cider  were  also  for  sale  in  these  places. 
In  a  journey  such  as  Joseph  and  Mary  may  often  have  made 
to  Jerusalem  it  is  easily  possible  that  they  would  have  spent 
one  night  in  the  home  of  a  friend  along  the  way,  and  another 
in  a  khan,  and  perhaps  a  third  in  a  tent  near  some  well-known 
spring.  All  these  methods  of  entertainment  were  common  in 
that  day,  and  Jesus  doubtless  availed  himself  of  all  of  these 
at  one  time  or  another.  After  his  ministry^  began  he  commonly 
accepted  the  hospitality  of  some  one  among  his  hearers.     In 


THE    LAD    IN    THE  TEMPLE 


75 


the  journey  to  Jerusalem  durinL^-  his  boyhood  we  shall  not  be 
far  wrong  if  we  imagine  the  great  caravan  returning  from  the 
feast  as  camping  out-of-doors  on  the  first  night.  So  large  a 
company  would  have  overflowed  all  the  homes  and  khans,  and 
the  season  was  one  in  which  camp  life  is  most  healthful  and 
pleasant. 


MODERN    TEACHERS    Oi    THE    LAW — JERUSALEM 

Probably  Jesus,  except  when  an  infant,  had  never  been  to 
Jerusalem  before  the  age  of  twelve.  He  doubtless  went  at 
this  time  to  become  a  "son  of  the  law,"  a  ceremony  that  may 
be  compared  to  confirmation  or  reception  into  church  mem- 
bership. It  commonly  occurred  about  the  age  of  fourteen, 
and  was  an  important  event  in  the  life  of  a  Jewish  boy.  The 
Gospels  indicate  that  it  was  the  custom  of  Joseph  to  attend 
the  Jewish  feasts,  and  that  Mary,  sometimes  at  least,  accom- 
panied him.     The  wife  was  not  bound  by  the  law  to  attend 


76 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


these  feasts,  but  many  women  did  attend  them  and  Mary 
at  least  on  one  occasion,  was  among  them.  Such  a  journey 
must  have  been  a  most  acceptable  break  in  the  somewhat 
restricted  life  of  an  Oriental  woman. 

But  if  the  occasion  was  one  of  great  interest  to  Mary, 
it  was  much  more  so  to  her  Son!  The  sight  of  Jerusalem  is 
still  a  beautiful  and  welcome  one  to  the  pilgrim  who  comes 
southward  from  Galilee  across  the  Samaritan  hills.     It  bursts 


^^      v^ 

iJtf^« 

i. 
i-      *' 

•ms  jsM 

(^^H 

a^^Km-   IS 

L  w^' 

"3K 

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a  ^EjJ 

km 

-'^.'^ 

M 

k< 

i^JP^r 

L^J^1\M 

^ , 

V 

ImM     ^     liHBr 

m 

.^^M^-/  "^^^^ 

fri^ 

"iSHp?  ^            j 

/ 

JESUS    AMONG    THE   DOCTORS — (hOFMANN,    1824 — ) 

upon  his  vision  like  a  dream  of  beauty,  and  grows  more  distinct 
as  each  turn  in  the  road  and  each  hilltop  on  the  highway 
brings  it  nearer  to  the  weary  yet  eager  pilgrim.  But  what 
must  it  have  been  to  an  eager,  reverent  Jewish  lad,  already  for 
his  years  a  thoughtful  student  of  the  law,  and  a  lover  of  his 
country.  He  had  seen  no  other  great  city,  and  to  him 
Jerusalem  was  the  embodiment  of  all  sacred  traditions,  and 
the  visible  exponent  of  all  national  hopes.  Certainly  the  days 
of  the  feast  must  have  been  great  days  for  the  boy  Jesus. 
Edersheim  thinks  it  quite  certain  that  the  returning  caravan 


THE    LAD    IN    THE  TEMPLE 


11 


to  which  Joseph  Ijelonged  did  not  remain  through  the  entire 
feast,  and  that  the  conference  of  Jesus  with  the  teachers  of 


ON    THE    ROAD    TO    JERUSALEM 

the  law  occurred  in  one  of  their  formal  g-atherings  on  one  of 
the  porches  of  the  temple    in  which    the    doctors  conversed 


THE    MOSQUE   OF   EL   AKSA,    ON    SOUTH    END   OF   THE   TEMPLE   AREA 

freely  with  all  who  cared  to  listen  and  to  question,  and  in 
which  the  inquiries  of  an  earnest  and  intelligent  boy  would 
have  received  attention  and  excited  interest. 

We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  doctors  sat  at  his  feet  to 


78 


Jl^SUS    OF    NAZARETH 


learn,  or  that  they  thoug-ht  of  him  as  a  supernatural  prodigy. 
It  was  he  who  was  there  as  the  learner,  still  increasing-  in 
wisdom  and  stature.  There  is  no  suggestion  in  the  Gospel 
narrative  that  the  boy  attempted  to  usurp  prerogatives  of  the 
teachers,  but  only  that  he  showed  a  sincere  interest  and  intelli- 
gent appreciation  of  spiritual  truths  that  excited  the  wonder 
and  called  forth  the  admiration  of  the  doctors  of  the  law. 


THE     BOY     JESUS — (wINTERSTEIN) 


If  Edersheim  is  right,  and  Jose])h  and  Mary  did  not  remain 
through  the  entire  feast,  this  fact  may  account  for  the  delay 
of  Jesus  through  some  misunderstanding  as  to  the  time  of 
their  return.  The  feast  seems  still  to  have  been  in  progress 
when  they  arrived  at  Jerusalem  next  day  and  found  him  after 
anxious  search.  So  carried  away  was  the  young  lad  with 
the  new  and  strange  experiences  of  this  wonderful  week,  that 
Galilee  and  the  carpenter  shop  were  forgotten,  and  even  Joseph 
and  Mary  seem  to  have  faded  from  his  thought.  He  must 
be  in  his  Father's  house,  and  he  wondered  that  he  had  not 
been  there  before,  and  that  they  did  not  understand  that  this 
was  his  place.     But  he  readily  accepted  the  situation  as  they 


THE   LAD    IN   THE  TEMPLE 


79 


INTERIOR    OF    MOSQUE   OF   OMAR 


THE  MOSQUE  OF  OMAR  ON   TEMPLE  SITE 


8o 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


made  it  plain  to  him,  and  went  back  with  them  to  Nazareth, 
and  for  the  next  eig^hteen  years  hved  quietly  as  the  carpenter's 
apprentice,  and,  at  length,  as  the  carpenter. 

It  would  be  a  wonderful  revelation  if  we  could  look  into  the 
soul  of  that  fine,  bright  boy  on  his  way  back  from  Jerusalem 
to  Galilee,  and  know  wdiat  emotions  filled  his  heart  as  the 
result  of  that  new  vision  of  life.  That  it  influenced  him  pro- 
foundly there  can  be  no  doubt.     Such  incidents  in  bovhood 


A    CARAVAN    KESTING 


are  pregnant  with  destiny,  and  the  writers  of  the  Gospels  look 
back  with  interest  and  perhaps  with  wonder  to  that  journey 
as  one  that  conspicuously  marked  the  quality  of  his  youth.  It 
is  well  that  we  posses  it;  it  is  well,  too,  that  we  know  it  to  be 
quite  exceptional.  For  a  single  day  it  brings  the  boy  Jesus 
into  the  light  of  our  knowledge  and  then  again  sends  him 
back  to  his  humble  duty  as  the  carpenter  and  a  son  of  the  law. 
He  has  returned,  cherishing  his  patient  ambition,  and  more 
and  more  wondering  what  is  to  be  his  work  in  life.  He  is  still 
subject  to  Joseph  and  Mary.  But  the  boy  Jesus  has  grown  in 
a  single  week  into  a  new  stage  of  spiritual  activity  and 
anticipation. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  BAPTISM  OF  JESUS 

The  years  at  Nazareth  sped  silently,  swiftly  and  unrecorded, 
and  Jesus  became  a  man.  He  was  now  less  frequently  referred 
to  as  "the  carpenter's  son"  than  as  "the  carpenter."  He  was 
to  be  more  than  a  carpenter,  but  his  entrance  upon  life  was 
as  yet  a  thing  unrevealed  to  men,  and  probably  known  to  him- 
self only  in  wonderings  and  inward  strivings.  Patiently  he 
worked  at  his  bench,  and  waited  God's  time. 

At  length  when  the  country  was  stirred  by  the  preaching 
of  a  young  prophet,  John,  Jesus  went  away  upon  a  journey, 
far  to  the  south  and  east,  and  was  gone  from  Nazareth  nearly 
two  months.  Forty  days  of  that  time  he  was  alone  in  the 
wilderness,  but  before  he  entered  the  solitude  he  received 
baptism  from  John. 

Six  months  before  the  birth  of  Jesus  this  cousin,  John,  was 
born  in  "the  hill  country  of  Judsea,"  as  the  Gospel  informs  us, 
and,  as  tradition  declares,  at  the  old  patriarchal  city  of  Hebron. 
Others  locate  his  birth  at  Ain  Karim.  He  was  the  son  of 
Elizabeth,  Mary's  cousin,  and  of  Zacharias,  a  priest. 

When  about  thirty  years  of  age  he  began  to  preach.  His 
gospel  was  the  gospel  of  repentance,  and  to  it  his  own  frugal 
life  and  shaggy  garb  lent  interest  and  power.  We  shall  look 
at  his  character  when  we  come  to  Jesus'  own  words  about  it. 
We  may  now  consider  the  conditions  of  the  times  in  which  his 
preaching  began,  the  place  of  baptism  as  it  now  appears,  and 
the  meeting  of  Jesus  and  John. 

We  can  understand  John  and  his  message  the  better  when 
we  remember  the  conditions  of  life,  both  civil  and  religious, 
during  the  times  of  his  boyhood  and  youth. 

Politically,  afYairs  had  suffered  a  sad  change  for  the  worse. 
Tiberius  was  on  the  throne  in  Rome,  and  his  reign  was  one 

8i 


82  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

of  merciless  severity  in  Palestine.  During  the  rei2:n  of 
Augustus,  when  Jesus  and  John  were  born,  the  Jews,  though 
taxed  and  under  restraint,  were  protected;  but  Tiberius  was 
bitterly  opposed  to  the  Jews,  and  cared  little  if  at  all  for  the 
wrongs  they  sufYered.  As  to  governors  near  at  hand,  "Herod 
the  King,"  died  in  April,  B.  C.  4.  The  slaughter  of  the  infants 
at  Bethlehem  was  perhaps  his  last  bloody  deed.  His  sons 
divided  his  domain  under  the  power  of  Rome.     Archelaus  was 


THE    RIVER   JORDAN 

ethnarch  of  Judaea,  Samaria  and  Idumasa,  and  reigned  in  wick- 
edness and  sensuality  from  4  B.  C.  to  6  A.  D.,  when  he  was 
banished  from  his  capital  at  Jericho  to  Vienna  in  Gallia;  and 
few  mourned  his  departure,  as  few  had  mourned  his  father's 
death.  But  with  him  ceased  the  tetrarchy.  Judaea  thence- 
forth was  attached  to  Syria,  and  was  governed  by  Roman 
procurators,  who  were  in  turn  subject  to  the  Roman  governor 
of  Syria.  There  were  seven  of  these  in  the  first  half-century 
following  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  of  them  one  has  attained 
an  immortality  of  infamy  in  the  oldest  Christian  creed — "He 
suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate." 

To  the  north  the  family  of  the  Herods  still  reigned — Philip 


THE    BAPTISM    OF    JESUS 


83 


as  tetrarch  of  the  provinces  north  and  east  of  the  Jordan,  and 
Antipas  as  tetrarch  of  Gahlee  and  Persea.  John  was  soon  to 
meet  Antipas  face  to  face,  and  rebuke  him  for  his  immorahty, 
and  Jesus  was  to  meet  both  Herod  and  Pilate  on  the  day  of  his 
crucifixion.  These  were  the  two  men  who  exercised  political 
control  over  Palestine  at  the  beginning  of  the  ministry  of  the 
Baptist — Herod,  the  murderer  of  John,  and  Pilate,  the 
murderer  of  Jesus. 


t&L^ 


I 


/««ilVlML< 


RUSSIAN    PILGRIMS    AT    JORDAN 

Religiously,  the  nation  was  in  a  sad  state.  The  high-priest- 
hood was  in  disrepute.  The  temple  at  Jerusalem  was  the  scene 
of  a  formal  worship,  into  which  had  crept  many  and  grave 
abuses.  The  leaders  were  divided  into  three  classes,  the 
Pharisees,  the  representatives  of  that  severe  and  formal  type 
of  religion  which  Nehemiah  established  after  the  exile,  but 
which  was  now  more  concerned  with  refinements  of  doctrine 
than  with  spiritual  realities;  the  Sadducees,  who  were  less 
numerous,  skeptical  and  proud,  among  whom  was  the  high 
priest  Caiaphas;  and  the  Essenes,  an  ascetic  order,  numbering 
about  four  thousand,  living  simple  and  severe  lives,  and  seeking 
holiness  by  withdrawal  from  the  world.     No  one  of  these  had 


84  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

power  to  bring  about  "the  kingdom  of  God,"  for  which  men 
were  looking  and  praying. 

In  such  a  time  John  came  to  manhood.  A  Judjean  by  birth, 
and  a  priest  by  inheritance,  he  early  learned  the  inadequacy  of 
existing  forces  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  time.  Living  an 
austere  and  ascetic  life,  brooding  over  the  evils  of  the  age  in 
which  he  lived,  John  felt  in  his  heart  the  necessity  of  a  new 
order  and  the  conviction  that  the  time  was  at  hand  for  the 
coming  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  He  was  sure  that  the  King 
had  already  come,  but  he  did  not  know  him  as  such.  John 
knew  himself  incapable  of  bringing  in  that  new  social  and 
religious  order  which  the  prophets  had  called  "the  kingdom 
of  God,"  but  he  undertook  to  be  its  herald,  and  to  discover 
and  introduce  its  King. 

John's  own  message  was  simple.  "Repent  ye;  for  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  at  hand."  When  men  asked  him  what  they 
were  to  do,  he  told  them  to  be  just,  sympathetic,  compas- 
sionate; to  cease  to  rely  on  their  descent  from  Abraham,  and 
to  look  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom. 

Throughout  all  Palestine  spread  the  news  of  the  preaching 
of  John.  New  hopes  stirred  in  the  hearts  of  men  when  they 
heard  his  message.  Eagerly  men,  especially  young  men, 
flocked  to  hear  him.  Among  the  rest  came  Jesus,  probably 
with  other  voung  men  from  Galilee.  Did  he  know  that  he 
was  coming  forth  to  his  ordination?  What  strivings  of  spirit, 
as  he  worked  at  the  bench,  lay  behind  the  decision  to  go  to 
Jordan  and  attend  the  preaching  of  John!  And  what  new 
power  of  conviction  may  have  come  to  him  as  he  listened! 
We  have  no  reason  to  assume  that  he  had  ceased  to  grow  in 
knowledsre  and  in  the  favor  of  God.  Some  growth  of  knowl- 
edge,  some  progress  in  divine  favor,  surely  preceded  and 
accompanied  the  act  of  his  public  consecration.  Some  new 
meaning  of  his  own  mission  to  men  became  clear  to  hun,  and 
he  enrolled  himself  as  a  companion  of  John  the  Baptist,  and 
was  baptized  by  him  in  Jordan. 

The  River  Jordan  is  unlike  any  other  stream  on  earth. 
From  the  Sea  of  Galilee  to  the  Dead  Sea  it  lies  far  below  the 


THE    BAPTISM    OF    JESUS 


85 


level  of  the  ocean.  Its  great  rapidity  unfits  it  for  navigation; 
it  thus  divides  and  does  not  unite.  It  is  insignificant  in  breadth 
and  easilv  fordable  at  a  number  of  places,  and  is  also  spanned 
by  a  few  bridges.  It  emerges  from  the  Sea  of  Galilee  clear 
and  blue;  but  its  swift  descent  brings  it  to  the  Dead  Sea  turbid 


THE    BAI'TISM    OF   JESUS (gUIDO    RENT,     I575-IO42) 


and  yellow.  In  popular  thought  Jordan  is  a  stream  of  dignity 
and  power;  and  so  most  tourists  are  disappointed  when  they 
discover  a  mere  muddy  creek.  They  have  hardly  seen  the  real 
Jordan;  the  stream  above  is  more  impressive.  The  part  of  the 
Jordan  which  tourists  see,  however,  is  the  part  most  intimately 
associated  with  gospel  history,  and  while  the  river  is  not  a 


86  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

formidable  boundary,  its  swiftness  and  general  depth  have 
made  it  in  all  generations  a  river  of  unique  importance.  While 
popular  imagination  gives  to  it  a  dignity  which  the  actual 
stream  dispels,  the  real  importance  of  the  river  has  not  been 
exaggerated  in  the  common  mind. 

The  valley  of  the  Jordan  grows  insufferably  hot,  and  is  quite 
unhealthy  for  people  who  are  not  acclimated,  and  the  vegeta- 
tion is  almost  tropical.  The  contrast  between  it  and  the 
wilderness  of  Jiid?ea  is  as  great  as  could  well  be  imagined. 
Palms,  oranges  and  lemons  abound  here,  and  the  scene 
delights  the  eye,  but  the  sterile  plain  toward  the  Dead  Sea, 
which  irrigation  would  render  wonderfully  fertile,  sends  up 
great  clouds  of  dust  in  the  dry  season,  and  the  great  heat 
makes  the  journey  to  the  scene  of  Christ's  baptism  uncom- 
fortable. Uncomfortable  as  it  is,  and  somewhat  disappointing 
when  accomplished,  it  is  a  journey  which  pilgrims  from  all  over 
the  world  remember  with  satisfaction;  and  princes  are  proud 
to  have  been  christened  in  water  brought  from  the  scene  of 
Christ's  baptism. 

At  some  unknown  place  called  Bethany,  and  wrongly  trans- 
lated Bethabara,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Jordan  and  opposite 
the  wilderness  of  Judsea,  John  gathered  his  crowds  and  bap- 
tized at  the  river  (John  1:28).  V^arious  attempts  have  been 
made  to  locate  this  Bethany,  which  of  course  is  wholly  distinct 
from  the  Bethany  where  Lazarus  lived.  Its  name  is  thought 
to  mean  ''house  of  ships,"  or  possibly  "ferry  boat"  or  "house 
of  fords."  We  do  not  know  the  precise  spot,  but  can  make  the 
scene  sufficiently  real  to  ourselves  when  we  stand  in  imagina- 
tion at  that  spot  wdiich  for  centuries  has  been  accepted  as  the 
place  where  Jesus  was  baptized.  The  traditional  spot  answers 
all  the  necessities  of  the  case.  It  is  a  ford  nearly  opposite 
Jericho,  and  noted  also  as  that  said  to  have  been  used  by  the 
children  of  Israel  in  their  crossing  to  capture  that  city.  Here 
the  river  is  swift  and  muddy,  but  thousands  of  tourists  every 
year  come  to  bathe  in  its  waters,  and  to  carry  away  flasks  of 
the  water  of  the  stream  where  Jesus  submitted  to  baptism  that 
thus  he  might  fulfil  all  righteousness. 


THE    BAPTISM    OF    JESUS 


87 


John  and  Jesus  met,  instantly  recognized  each  other,  and 
then  parted.  Each  bore  his  loyal  testimony  to  the  other;  but 
their  work  was  done  apart.  The  holy  life  of  which  John  knew, 
and  the  dove-like  halo  which  he  saw  above  the  head  of  his 
carpenter-cousin,  convinced  him  that  Jesus  was  "He  that 
should  come;"  and  he  prepared  to  decrease  that  Jesus  might 


THE   BAPTISM    OF    JESUS — Ca.    VERROCCHIO.    I435-I488) 

increase.  Jesus,  too,  knew  John;  discerned  in  him  that  fear- 
less integrity,  that  loyalty  to  God  and  duty,  that  unselfish 
nobility  which  characterized  him,  and  bore  his  fervent  testi- 
mony to  the  man  than  whom  greater  had  not  been  born.  But 
much  as  they  had  in  common,  their  work  was  unlike.  John's 
mission  was  to  complete  the  old  dispensation,  while  that  of 
Jesus  was  to  begin,  and  only  to  begin,  the  new. 

It  has  often  been  asked  whv  Tesus,  who  knew  no  sin,  con- 


88  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

sented  to  be  baptized  with  a  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins. 
It  is  probable  that  the  simplest  answer  is  the  truest,  namely, 
that  he  had  no  deep,  obscure  motive,  but  wished  simply  to 
enroll  himself  amon<2;  those  who  were  the  coni])anions  of  John. 
His  relation  to  John  was  of  great  value  to  him  throug'hout 
his  whole  ministry.  It  was  John's  testimony  that  brou.s^ht 
him  his  first  disciples  and  secured  for  him  his  first  public 
recognition.  The  name  of  John  was  a  protection  to  him  until 
very  near  the  end  of  his  ministry.  Publicly  to  acknowledge 
the  worth  of  John  was  not  beneath  him.  It  need  not  trouble 
us  that  our  Lord,  who  entered  so  fully  into  our  human  life, 
accepted  this  symbol  at  the  entrance  of  his  own  public  ministry. 
We  mav  not  be  sure  of  all  his  reasons,  but  the  record  of  the 
fact  is  indisputable. 

It  w^ould  be  a  mistake  to  think  of  the  baptism  of  Jesus  as 
of  no  value  to  himself.  It  marked  an  epoch  in  his  life.  It 
opened  for  him  a  new  experience.  It  identified  him  anew  with 
the  race  in  his  submission  to  the  conditions  of  righteousness 
in  human  life.  It  made  more  real  to  him  the  presence  and 
power  of  the  Spirit.  With  a  new  richness,  the  Spirit  was  now 
his;  its  descent  at  his  baptism  was  his  ordination  for  his  life- 
work,  and  sent  him  forth  confident,  earnest  and  relying  upon 
God.  The  event  drew  a  wide  line  of  demarkation  between  his 
past  and  future.  The  neighbors,  who  of  late  had  thought  him 
restless,  ambitious,  erratic,  perhaps,  would  know  him  no  more 
at  the  carpenter's  bench.  When  he  returned  into  Galilee  it 
would  be  "in  the  power  of  the  Spirit,"  and,  reading  the  words 
of  the  prophet  of  old,  "The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, 
because  he  anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  to  the  poor," 
he  would  he  able  to  add,  "To-day  hath  this  scripture  been 
fulfilled  in  your  ears." 

We  need  not  doubt  that  he  later  received  more  of  the  same 
Spirit  as  his  work  developed,  and  his  deeds  grew  more  vari- 
ously illustrative  of  the  power  of  God.  Angels  came  down 
and  ministered  to  him  in  his  need,  and  if  these  spirits  of  light, 
then  surely  also  the  Spirit  of  God.  of  which  he  was  born,  and 
which  anew  had  come  upon  him  at  baptism,  came  more  and 


THE    BAPTISM    OF    JESUS 


89 


more  into  his  life  till  God  gave  not  the  Spirit  to  him  by 
measure,  but  of  the  divine  fullness  poured  into  that  human  life 
all  that  humanity  could  contain  and  reveal  of  the  nature  of 
God  himself. 


THE    LIGHT    OF    THE    WORLD 
(W.    HOLMAN    HUNT,    1827 — ) 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  TEMPTATION  OF  JESUS 

The  traveler  from  Jerusalem  to  the  Jordan  leaves  trees  and 
fertile  fields  behind  him  at  Bethany,  and  almost  at  once  enters 
a  sterile  and  broken  country.  Passing  the  Apostles'  Spring, 
and  later  the  Inn  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  water  and  human 
habitations  alike  are  forgotten,  or  remembered  as  things 
belonging  to  a  world  long  out  of  sight.  The  road  follows  the 
edge  of  a  deep  ravine,  on  whose  further  side  appears  a  curious 
monastery,  built  on  the  side  of  th.e  clitT. 

Here,  where  Elijah  is  said  to  have  been  nourished  by 
the  ravens,  Greek  monks  maintain  their  place  of  residence 
and  of  prayer  in  the  midst  of  the  deep  solitude.  Nearly  six 
hundred  feet  from  the  top  of  their  dwelling  the  dry  wady  of 
the  Kidron  yawns  below  them.  Above  are  the  blue  heavens, 
and  all  around  is  sterility  and  silence.  A  habitation  such  as 
this  in  the  midst  of  desolation  accentuates  the  loneliness  of 
the  situation,  and  causes  one  to  feel  even  more  than  if  there 
were  no  life  there  at  all,  the  everlasting  silence  and  mysterv 
and  awe  of  the  situation.  A  few  miles  down  the  valley,  at  its 
junction  with  the  wide  plain  of  the  Jordan,  and  a  little  farther 
up  the  river,  rises  the  Mount  of  Ouarantania,  the  traditional 
scene  of  the  temptation  of  Jesus.  The  sides  of  the  hill  contain 
many  clififs  where  anchorites  have  dwelt,  many  of  them 
prolonging  to  as  many  ypars  the  forty  days  of  Christ's  solitude 
and  meditation.  This  is  the  traditional  "exceeding  high  moun- 
tain" from  which  the  tempter  showed  the  Lord  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  world.  It  presents  to  the  plain  a  perpendicular 
wall  of  rock  which  Robinson  estimates  as  twelve  to  fifteen 
hundred  feet  above  the  river,  and  of  which  Thomson  says, 
"The  side  facing  the  plain  is  as  perpendicular  and  apparently 
as  high  as  the  rock  of  Gibraltar,  and  upon  the  summit  are  still 
visible  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  convent."     It  is  probable  that 

90 


THE    TEAIPTATIUX     OF    JESUS 


91 


the  name  Ouarantania.  which  refers  to  the  forty  days,  and  the 
tradition  which  the  name  commemorates,  are  not  older  than 
the  Crusades,  but  the  situation  readily  lends  itself  to  the 
incident. 


WHERE   ELIJAH    HID   FROM    JEZEBEL 

Somewhere  in  this  vast  wilderness  Jesus  met  and  decided 
the  fundamental  questions  of  his  life-work.  He  had  become 
conscious  of  his  power,  and  that  fact  in  itself  constituted  an 
element  of  temptation.  The  c|uestion  what  to  do  with  his 
new  and  supreme  strength  now  came  to  him  for  decision.  He 
was  no  longer  a  carpenter;    he  had  turned  his  back  forever 


92  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

upon  the  associations  of  his  childhood  and  youniy  manhood. 
He  was  to  follow  the  example  of  John  in  undertaking  a  public 
ministry.  But  his  call  to  preach  implied  more  of  power  and 
a  wider  ministry  than  John's;  in  what  spirit  and  for  what 
ends  were  this  power  and  ministry  to  be  exercised? 

The  older  views  of  the  temptation  were  g-enerally  gross 
and  materialistic.  A  dark  and  mighty  Satan  dealing  with  a 
weak  and  puny  Christ  has  been  the  general  conception  of  art. 
It  should  be  remembered  as  against  this  view,  with  what 
courage  and  strength  Jesus  met  and  mastered  his  temptations. 
He  was  no  weakling,  lifted  passive  and  helpless  by  a  dark  and 
almost  omnipotent  Satan.  Jesus  was  master  of  the  situation 
throughout. 

The  temptation  of  Jesus  was  real  and  strong.  It  is  no 
ideal  picture  which  is  given  here,  but  the  genuine  description 
of  the  heart-struggle  of  a  pure  soul  with  its  own  various  and 
human  impulses  and  ambitions  when  it  stands  on  the  thresh- 
old of  its  career.  The  temptations  may  have  been  subjective 
and  not  objective — I  incline  to  believe  them  to  have  been 
subjective.  I  do  not  know  in  what  language  God  might 
choose  to  set  forth  the  account  of  a  subjective  struggle  if  not 
in  such  as  this;  but  subjective  or  objective,  it  was  a  genuine 
and  powerful  one.     Jesus  was  not  posing,  but  suffering. 

If  it  be  objected  that  temptability  is  incompatible  with 
sinless  character,  it  may  be  answered  that  so  far  as  we  know 
human  beings,  character,  good  or  bad,  sinful  or  sinless, 
becomes  possible  only  in  the  presence  of  temptation.  Nor 
need  this  be  so  far  beyond  our  comprehension  that  temptation 
may  be  without  sin;  for  do  we  not  all  know  something  of  a 
sinless  temptation?  Sinful  as  we  are,  have  we  not  all  at  times 
resisted,  and  successfully?  Have  we  not  sometimes  come  out 
of  the  furnace  without  the  smell  of  fire  upon  our  garments 
and  with  a  holy  and  confident  triumph?  Such  experiences  as 
we  have  all  had,  such  even  as  the  worst  man  may  have  known, 
may  make  it  possible  for  us  to  understand  that  Christ  could 
be  tempted  and  yet  sinless.  On  the  other  hand,  the  memories 
of  our  frequent  falls  stand  in  complete  contrast  with  his  heroic 
and  successful  resistance. 


THE    TEMPTATION     OF    JESUS 


93 


Upon  the  face  of  the  narrative  there  are  three  temptations. 
But  I  am  not  sure  that  we  ought  not  to  count  a  fourth,  which 
entered  into  all  of  the  others,  and  was  twice  suggested  in 
words  by  the  tempter,  "If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God."  There 
was  a  suggested  doul^t.  And  no  wonder.  What  a  mission 
was  this  upon  which  Jesus  was  to  enter!  What  infinite  possi- 
bilities of  humiliation  and  of  failure  lay  before  him!  Well 
may  he  have  asked,  "Am  I,  the  son  of  Mary,  also  the  Son  of 


THE     WILDERNESS    OF    }VDJEA 


God?  Is  the  carpenter's  bench  in  very  truth  a  thing  of  the 
past?  Is  there  to  come  into  my  life  a  sudden  and  a  mighty 
change?  What  did  the  descent  of  the  dove  mean?  What  is 
it  to  be  the  Son  of  God?  How  am  I  sure  of  this?  In  what 
have  I  become  different  from  what  I  was  yesterday?  Can  it  be 
that  I  am  the  Son  of  God?  And  even  if  I  were  sure  of  it,  can 
I  make  any  one  else  believe  it?" 

All  great  souls  feel  something  of  this  when  they  enter  upon 
their  life-work.  These  are  the  wrestlings  with  the  angel 
whose  name  we  know  not.     Sometimes  in  the  struggle  with 


94  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

the  unknown  we  cry,  "Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,"  and  then 
again  we  wrestle  on  in  the  uncertainty  until  we  feel  that  we 
have  prevailed  with  God.  So  we  struggle  and  question  until 
the  day  breaks.  It  is  this  element  of  uncertainty,  this  lack 
of  objective  demonstration,  that  gives  a  tragic  element  to  the 
dawn  of  the  Christian  life.  Good  people  meet  it  all  through 
life  at  every  important  question  and  issue.  Paul  had  this 
struggle  when  he  took  the  bold  step  of  crossing  from  Asia  into 
Europe,  following  the  vision,  which  did  not  materialize,  of 
the  man  of  Macedonia  asking  for  help.  His  flesh  had  no  rest. 
Without  were  fightings;  within  were  fears.  He  had  followed 
the  vision  obedient  to  the  will  of  God;  but  how  did  he  know 
it  was  God's  will?  ]\Iany  brave  souls,  having  burned  their 
boats  behind  them,  start  upon  the  work  to  which  their  choice 
commits  them  with  momentary  sinking  of  heart.  They  must 
conquer  now,  or  die.  But  what  if  they  have  wrongly  estimated 
their  powers?    What  if  it  is  all  a  delusion? 

This  is  the  temptation  implied  in  the  challenge,  "If  thou  be 
the  Son  of  God."  As  yet  he  had  wrought  no  miracles.  The 
consciousness  of  his  power  was  purely  subjective  and  theoret- 
ical. How  could  he  assure  himself  that  his  hardened  hand 
could  heal  the  sick?  How  could  he  convince  himself,  much 
less  others,  that  he  had  power  to  forgive  sins?  He  was  sure 
of  it,  perhaps,  but  what  if  he  ventured  on  this  assurance  and 
then  failed?  Ah,  the  doubt  of  it:  "If  thou  be  the  Son  of 
God!"  Here  is  the  opportunity  to  test  it  apart  from  the 
curious  crowds.  Here  is  a  chance  to  assure  himself,  and  at 
the  same  time  make  his  power  serve  himself.  And  if,  forsooth, 
he  can  make  stones  bread,  can  he  not,  Midas-like,  turn  all 
he  touches  to  gold? 

In  like  manner  we  are  tempted  to  use  what  God  has  given 
us  for  merely  physical  ends.  So  was  Adam  tempted  to  put  the 
physical  above  the  material.  This  is  the  lowest  form  of  direct 
temptation,  and  is  v;here  the  whole  race  falls,  not  as  individ- 
uals only,  but  as  a  race.  We  point  to  our  great  country,  its 
millions  of  acres,  its  spreading  fields,  its  mighty  reapers  and 
threshers,  its  powerful  and  productive  mills,  its  railroads,  its 


THE    TEMPTATION    OF    JESUS 


95 


wholesale  stores,  and  its  mammoth  bakeries.  How  great  a 
thing  is  civihzation!  So  it  is,  and  it  is  God's  gift.  The  man 
who  makes  wheat  to  grow  from  the  earth  constantly  makes 
bread  from  stones.  It  is  not  sinful,  but  divine.  But  he  who 
sees  in  the  power  which  God  has  given  to  modern  life  only 


THE    TEMPTATION — (CORWIN      KNAPP     LINSOn) 

(courtesy  of  s.  s.  m'ci.ure  CO.    copyright) 

the  opportunity  of  feeding  more  men  or  feeding  them  better, 
fails  to  find  God's  most  characteristic  work  in  modern  hfe. 
Men  may  coin  their  acres  into  bread  and  yet  starve  in  their 
spiritual  needs. 

We  must  not   forget   that   even    the  temptation    to  make 


96  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

bread  the  end  and  aim  of  his  mission  was  a  real  one  to  a  man 
who  had  been  a  l^readwinner,  earning  his  food  by  his  own 
labor.  Not  only  his  own  bread  but  the  bread  of  those  who 
might  be  associated  with  him  could  be  provided  by  his  power, 
if  he  chose  to  use  it  so.  The  temptation  to  make  commerce 
out  of  divine  power  and  to  traffic  with  the  inheritance  of  God, 
is  as  old  as  Esau  and  as  modern  as  the  twentieth  century. 
The  first  temptation  decided  that  the  chief  ambition  of  Jesus 
was  not  to  be  the  mere  quest  of  bread.  Yet  Jesus  ate  bread 
all  his  life  and  never  despised  the  struggle  for  it,  nor  under- 
valued the  importance  of  man's  having  food  and  enough  of 
it.  But  the  Scripture  is  eternally  true,  that  "Man  shall  not 
live  by  bread  alone." 

The  next  temptation  raised  the  struggle  to  a  higher  plane. 
Why  not  use  his  power  to  gratify  the  curious,  to  excite 
admiration,  and  to  minister  to  his  own  spiritual  pride?  Thus 
he  could  prove  his  power,  and  by  it  enforce  his  teaching.  It 
is  a  subtle  form  of  temptation,  and  the  more  insidious  because 
only  those  experience  it  who  have  made  some  progress  in 
goodness.  Christ  recognized  the  full  import  of  this  invitation 
of  Satan  and  successfully  resisted  it.  It  came  to  him  again 
and  again  in  the  course  of  his  ministry  in  the  demands  of  the 
curious  crowds  that  he  work  miracles  for  their  satisfaction.  The 
precise  point  at  which  the  working  of  miracles  ceased  to  be 
a  means  of  spiritual  good  and  became  the  occasion  of  pride  and 
pretense,  Jesus  infallibly  detected,  and  the  more  so  because  he 
so  swiftly  and  so  faithfully  met  the  issue  at  the  outset. 

Let  us  realize  how  thoroughly  Jesus  conquered  the  tempta- 
tion to  use  his  power  to  draw  crowds  and  excite  admiration. 
Again  and  again  he  concealed  his  mighty  works.  Again  and 
again  he  withdrew  from  men,  though  the  need  of  some  of  them 
was  sore,  lest  the  mere  working  of  miracles  should  make  his 
mission  one  of  legerdemain.  He  had  little  reliance  upon  the 
supernatural  as  a  means  of  grace.  He  taught  his  disciples  to 
believe  in  him,  if  possible,  because  of  his  revelation  of  the 
Father,  and  if  not,  then,  and  alas,  to  believe  for  the  very 
works'  sake. 


THE    TEMPTATION    OF    JESUS  97 

Jesus  did  not  make  his  appeal  to  men  as  tlie  Christ,  but  as 
the  Son  of  man.  Not  tih  late  in  his  ministry  did  he  permit 
men  to  know  that  he  was  the  Christ,  and  those  who  earlier 
discovered  it  were  commanded  to  keep  it  secret.  The  work 
of  Christ  was  not  a  campaign  of  self-advertising.  He  came  to 
reveal,  not  himself,  but  the  Father.  From  beginning  to  end 
he  refused  to  cast  himself  down  from  pinnacles  to  make  the 
multitude  gape,  or  to  trust  in  the  power  of  angels  to  sustain 


^^ 

^H 

BHB 

THE     MOUNT    OF    TEMPTATION     FROM     THE    JORDAN    VALLEY 

him.  At  the  end  he  might  have  had  ten  legions  of  angels  to 
defend  him,  but  he  faced  the  court  of  Pilate  and  the  world  in 
the  simple  majesty  of  his  manhood.  So  completely  did  he 
resist  the  tempter,  and  prevail. 

Then  came  the  last  and  keenest  temptation.  If  there  be 
any  pure  ambition  it  is  that  for  fame  and  glory.  To  be  the 
Son  of  God  that  he  might  eat,  would  be  contemptible.  To  be 
the  Son  of  God  that  he  might  make  the  curious  wonder, 
would  be  beneath  him.  But  to  be  the  Son  of  God  and  a  king — 
and  such  a  king — this  would  be  different.  To  rule  the  earth, 
and  to  make  it  such  an  earth  as  he  could  have  made  it — this 


98  JESUS    OF    NAZAR!':TH 

must  have  appealed  to  him.  We  have  no  reason  to  believe 
ihat  Christ  was  tenijjted  to  be  a  wicked  ruler  but  only  a 
selfish  one.  The  world  was  groaning-  under  the  Roman  yoke. 
From  the  remotest  provinces  of  Rome  came  to  Judsea  and 
Galilee  frequent  rumors  of  the  rottenness  of  the  empire,  and 
of  its  readiness  to  totter.  What  would  now  happen  if  a  leader 
such  as  Jesus,  with  his  power  of  hand  and  brain,  with  his 
power  over  nature  and  over  men,  should  rise  in  this  remote 
province,  surrounded  by  ardent  followers?  Other  provinces 
would  rise  in  rebellion;  the  empire  would  be  in  confusion. 
His  cause  had  more  than  a  fiehting  chance.  He  could  repeat 
the  large  success  of  Herod;  he  could  perhaps  do  more,  and 
rule  the  world.  This  was  the  ver\^  tangible  temptation  which 
came  to  him.  Over  and  over  he  had  to  fig^ht  against  it  when 
the  people  would  take  him  and  make  him  king  by  force.  He 
might  possibly  have  been  the  successor  of  Cjesar.  He  might 
have  reigned  in  Rome.  But  to  do  it  would  leave  the  world 
unsaved.  To  his  eternal  glory  and  ours,  he  did  not  do  it.  He 
had  as  good  right  to  do  this  as  any  man  has  to  seek  first  his 
own  pleasure  or  power,  but  not  even  to  the  Son  of  God  would 
selfishness  have  been  otherwise  than  a  worship  of  Satan. 

I  do  not  agree  with  those  who  afifirm  that  Satan  lied  in 
promising  to  Jesus  a  kingdom.  By  such  tactics  as  he  proposed, 
kingdoms  have  often  been  established.  Jesus  could  well  esti- 
mate the  ability  of  Satan  to  deliver  a  kingdom,  and  there 
would  have  been  no  temptation  if  he  had  not  known  the  king- 
dom as  a  possibility. 

The  Bible  puts  in  plain,  blunt  English,  what  I  suppose  is 
a  paraphrase  of  Satan's  actual  words.  I  have  no  idea  that 
Satan  said  in  so  many  words,  "Fall  down  and  worship  me." 
That  would  have  been  a  most  undiplomatic  way  of  putting  the 
case.  What  Satan  actually  said  was  probably  more  like  this: 
"Be  a  patiot.  Free  your  country.  Do  not  waste  your  splendid 
talents  on  simple  minded  fishermen.  Be  great — not  bad,  of 
course,  but  be  not  righteous  overmuch.  It  does  not  pay.  Be 
first  of  all  as  great  as  you  can,  and  incidentally  be  as  good 
as  selfish  greatness  will  let  you  be.     The  world  owes  you  a 


THE    TEMPTATION     OF    JESUS 


99 


living.  What  are  stones  good  for  but  bread?  Pinnacles  are 
for  your  exhibition  of  God's  presence  with  you.  Kingdoms 
are  for  those  who  can  rule  them — get  one  while  you  can. 
Trust  God  Lud  go  ahead,  and  it  will  be  to  your  advantage." 
This  temptation  was  the  more  real  to  a  Jew  l)ecause  the 


THE  MOUNT  OF  TEMPTATION — NEAR  VIEW 

kingdom  that  then  existed  was  so  oppressive  that  in  resisting 
it  he  might  almost  hide  from  himself  the  ambition  under  the 
name  of  religion  and  patriotism.  To  choose  for  himself  a 
career  of  fame  and  glory;  to  get  renown  as  the  deliverer  of  his 
people  from  the  burden  of  the  Roman  yoke,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  escape  the  cross  and  the  shame;  to  make  the  kingdoms 
of  the  world  his  own — but  by  the  failure  to  do  his  duty  as  the 


lOO 


JKSUS    UF    NAZARETH 


son  of  God;  this  was  what  Satan  offered:  hut  Jesus  never  for 
a  moment  swerved  from  his  decision  through  ah  the  anxieties 
and  burdens  of  the  next  three  years.  Though  crucified  as  an 
insurgent  against  Ciesar.  his  kingdom  was  not  of  tliis  world. 
When  Jesus  returned  again  to  mingle  among  men,  he  re- 
entered the  Jordan  valley.  It  is  impossible  to  imagine  a  more 
cheerful  or  exhilarating  contrast   to  the  wiklcrness  of  lud.xa. 


THE    TEMPTATION — (  CORNICELIUS,     1825 — ) 


To  emerge  from  the  barrenness  and  loneliness  of  that  wilder- 
ness into  the  life  and  verdure  of  the  valley  is  to  feel  a  sudden 
uplift,  refreshing  alike  to  body  and  mind.  The  tourist  of 
to-day,  after  a  ride  of  five  or  six  hours  through  the  same  wilder- 
ness, comes  forth  with  feelings  of  exhilaration.  This  and  more 
Jesus  felt.  He  felt,  we  may  believe,  a  new  strength  within 
himself,  a  new  i:)Owcr  to  deal  with  the  problems  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  FIRST  DISCIPLES 


Immediately  on  his  return  from  the  wilderness,  our  Lord 
began  to  gather  a  band  of  disciples.  His  first  followers  came 
before  his  first  sermon.  It  was  not  his  invitation  that  secured 
their  confession  of  faith  in  him,  but   the  testimony  of  John, 


^^H 

\  f 

^^^^^1 

L  } 

ON    JORDAN  S    BANKS 

"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God."  It  was  John,  later  know-n  as  the 
evangelist,  and  Andrew,  to  whom  John  spoke,  and  these  two 
left  John,  the  heroic,  the  self-effacing,  and  followed  Jesus. 

"Where  dwellest  thou?"  they  asked  him;  they  themselves 
were  not  at  home,  and  had  no  place  to  invite  him.  "Come 
and  see."  said  Jesus.  We  do  not  know^  what  was  his  lodging 
beside  the  Jordan.  He  had  come  out  of  the  wilderness  after 
a  solitude  of  six  weeks;  we  should  like  to  know  what  habita- 
tion first  constituted  his  home  on  his  return  among  men.  But 
the  disciples  do  not  tell  us  about  the  place  in  which  they  found 


102 


JKSUS    OF    NAZARETH 


him  established  for  his  brief  sojourn.  Perhaps  they  did  not 
notice.  It  was  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  they  went 
with  him.  and  they  sat  with  him  while  the  short  February  day 
drew  to  its  close,  and  the  sun  went  down.  They  probably  spent 
the  eveninc^.  the  day  was  so  nearly  gone,  and  the  (|uestions 


jesus,  pkter  and  john  the  baptist 
(cur.  verlat) 


burning  their  hearts  were  so  great,  and  that  evening,  or  a 
part  of  it,  was  shared  also  with  a  third  companion.  The  first 
two  were  John  and  Andrew,  and  the  third,  whom  Andrew 
found  with  an  eager,  breathless  message,  was  Peter.  "We 
have  found  the  Christ,"  he  cried,  and  it  was  not  a  difficult 
thing  which  he  accomplished  when  "he  brought  him  to  Jesus." 
There  they  sat,  the  three  of  them,  and  in  his  presence,  in  that 
February  twilight,  three  fishermen  away  on  a  vacation,  their 


THE    FIRST    DISCIPLES 


103 


mental  horizon  suddenly  enlarged  with  the  vision  of  their 
nation's  hope.  "We  have  found  the  Christ!"  The  conviction 
grew  strong  in  the  hearts  of  these  three  men,  and  they  forth- 
with became  his  disciples. 


the  calling  of  peter  and  andrew 
(baroccio,  1508-1573) 


It  was  well  they  went  at  once  to  the  Master's  temporary 
home  by  the  Jordan,  for  he  left  next  day.  Yet,  next  morning 
before  leaving  he  had  called  another  disciple,  Philip,  and 
Philip,  with  an  eagerness  like  Andrew's,  had  found  his  own 
brother  Nathansel  and  brought  him  to  Jesus.  So  between 
four  o'clock  of  one  day  and  noon  of  the  next  our  Lord's  first 
five  disciples  had  been  secured. 


104  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

Not  much  was  required  of  them  at  the  outset.  Such  a 
thing  as  leaving  their  homes  to  be  with  him  was  not  so  much 
as  hinted  at  They  simply  confessed  to  the  great  hope  which 
their  nation  had  cherished  for  centuries,  and  which  they  now 
believed  was  to  be  realized  in  him. 

With  this  hope  mounting  high  in  their  hearts  they  went 
back  to  their  homes  and  their  fishing.  Yet  as  they  cast  their 
nets  they  talked  of  him  whom  they  had  seen  and  conversed 
with  beside  the  Jordan,  and  whom  John  proclaimed,  and  they 
believed,  to  be  the  Lamb  of  God.  They  never  forgot  that  first 
meeting.  Sixty  years  afterward,  one  of  them,  writing  about 
it,  could  tell  the  very  hour  of  the  day  and  the  very  words  of 
their  first  dialogue.  They  were  following  him  after  they  heard 
John  speak,  and  he  turned  and  asked  them,  ''What  seek  ye?" 
They  asked  him,  "Master,  where  dwellest  thou?"  He  answered, 
"Come  and  see."  The  rest  of  it  was  less  distinct.  Probably 
they  said  little,  and  soon  forgot  their  own  questions;  but  him 
and  his  gracious,  constraining  power  they  never  forgot  from 
that  hour  to  the  ends  of  their  lives. 

Thus,  without  making  bread  from  stones,  or  working  mir- 
acles or  announcing  a  programme  attractive  to  ambition,  Jesus 
manifested  his  mastery  over  men.  The  testimony  of  John  was 
unsolicited;  the  winning  of  the  first  disciples  was  without  con- 
straint. Easily,  naturally,  and  without  resistance,  these  dis- 
ciples came  to  Jesus,  and  Jesus  received  them  and  held  their 
devotion  to  the  end. 


CHAPTER    VIII 


THE  MARRIAGE  AT  CANA 

The  traveler  from  Nazareth  to  the  Sea  of  GaHlee  stops  by 
the  way  to  permit  his  horse  to  drink  from  an  old  stone  sar- 
cophagus beside  the  public  spring  of  Kefr  Kenna.  Around 
the  spring  gather  the  usual  group  of  village  maidens  with  their 
water-pots,  chatting  and  gossiping  and  shrinking  in  mock 
modesty  from  his  camera.  They  speak  no  English,  but  under- 
stand his  question  concerning  the  name  of  the  village  and 
answer.  "Kahnah  of  Galilee."  Between  spreading  orchards  of 
olive-trees,  walled  in  by  cactus  hedges,  the  tourist  rides  up 
the  low  hill  into  a  dirty  city,  and  finds  himself  between  a 
Greek  church  on  the  left  and  the  Latin  convent  on  the  right. 
Here  he  dismounts  and  is  welcomed  at  the  door  of  the  church 
by  the  Greek  priest,  who  shows  him  the  simple  interior  of  the 
small  house  of  worship.  It  is  cool  and  restful  after  the  hot  sun^ 
.ind  the  priest  extends  a  pleasant  greeting  and  shows  the  few 
minor  articles  of  interest,  and  the  one  chief  attraction  of  the 
place,  a  huge  water-pot,  which  tradition  declares  to  have  been 
one  of  those  employed  by  Jesus  in  his  first  miracle.  The 
spring  at  which  the  tourist's  horse  has  been  drinking  is  sup- 
posed by  the  Greeks  to  have  been  that  at  which  the  water-pots 
were  filled.  The  church  is  believed  to  occupy  the  site  of  the 
house  in  which  the  marriage  took  place.  The  tourist  may 
question  the  accuracy  of  the  tradition,  and  be  more  than  sus- 
picious of  the  preservation  of  the  water-pot,  but  the  exhibition 
of  these  tangible  things  serves  to  give  a  semblance  of  reality 
to  the  story.  Here,  if  tradition  may  be  believed,  "The  con- 
scious water  saw  its  Lord  and  blushed." 

Across  the  street  near  at  hand  is  the  Latin  monastery.  The 
father  at  its  head  is  intelligent  and  interested  in  archaeology. 
He  has  personally  conducted  excavations  on  the  convent  prop- 

105 


io6 


JESUS    OF    NAZARRTH 


erty,  and  believes  that  the  monastery  covers  the  foundation  of 
the  orisjinal  house,  and  also  that  he  has  discovered  the  cistern 
from  which  the  water  was  drawn.  Here.  too.  is  another  water- 
pot  of  anti(|ue  mold.  The  tourist  must  accustom  himself  to 
the  duplication  of  sacred  relics  in  Palestine.  Each  sacred  spot 
has  its  Greek  and  its  Latin  shrine,  and  each  its  own  collection 
of  relics.  The  tourist  must  see  both  collections  if  he  would 
be  sure  of  haviui^  seen  the  genuine  one,  and  he  is  fortunate 
if,  even  then,  he  can  feel  certain.  For  myself.  I  more  than 
questioned  the  orenuineness  of  any  of  these  recently  discov- 
ered mementos.     It  is  quite  enough  to  say  of  them  that  they 


Hifl^^Vf  "^^^  £^ 

^""^ 

^^oKUfiSf^S^ 

^m 

f%flHAf  V  A 

Kii]? 

^m 

^M 

P/i^Bf  A^f 

THE    MARRIAGE    AT    CANA 
(PAUL   VERONESE.    I528-I588) 


are  undoubtedly  old,  and  may  be  of  the  kind  used  in  the  New 
Testament  days.  This  is  quite  sufficient,  too;  for  relics  such 
as  these  give  us  a  visil)le  link  between  the  present  and  the 
past.  The  Latins,  like  the  Greek  priest,  treated  us  with  hos- 
pitality, and  offered  us  wine  of  the  kind  said  to  have  l)een  pro- 
duced by  the  miracle.  Across  the  interesecting  street  in  a  little 
schoolhouse  used  by  the  Greek  church,  the  women  made  for 
us  lemonade  from  nati\'e  lemons  and  a  great  loaf  of  granulated 
sugar  from  which  they  broke  small  portions  for  our  refreshing 
drink.  I  am  no  judge  of  wine  and  never  drink  it,  but  the 
lemonade  was  good. 


THE    MARRIAGE    AT    CANA 


107 


The  modern  Cana  contains  six  hundred  inhabitants,  half  of 
them  Mohammedans  and  the  majority  of  the  remainder 
There  are  a  few  Latins  and  a  still  smaller  number  of  Protest- 
ants. 

No  description  is  given  in  the  New  Testament  which  enables 
us  to  see  how  widely  the  Cana  of  to-day  differs  from  that  of 
nineteen  hundred  years  ago.  The  modern  Cana  is  a  typical 
Galilaean  village,  and  that  is  probably    true    of    the    ancient 


THE    SPRING    AT    CANA    OF    GALILEE 


Cana.  The  people  are  more  hospitable  than  in  many  of  the 
Palestine  villages,  and  the  treatment  which  our  party  received 
both  from  the  officials  and  the  villagers  was  all  that  could  be 
desired.  Here  we  found  industries  in  progress  of  the  sort 
mentioned  in  the  Bible;  the  girls  gathering  the  grass  in  the 
field  and  the  thorn-plant  from  the  hills  for  fuel  for  the  ovens; 
the  women  grinding  at  the  mill,  and  all  the  activities  of  life 
progressing  much  as  in  Bible  times.  It  may  be  that  the  vil- 
lage is  not  very  unlike  that  where  Jesus  performed  the  miracle. 


io8  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

It  would  be  worth  much  to  witness  a  wedding  in  Cana,  but 
this  was  not  our  privileg^e. 

We  know,  however,  the  marriage  customs  of  that  day.  There 
were  two  ceremonies,  the  betrothal  and  the  wedding.  In  Judiea 
much  was  made  of  the  former,  but  habits  were  simpler  in  Gali- 
lee, and  the  engagement  service  was  attended  with  less  cere- 
mony. At  this  preliminary  service  the  bridegroom  handed  the 
bride  a  coin  or  a  letter  as  a  token  of  espousal.  From  that  time 
the  two  were  regarded  in  law^  and  in  society  as  married,  save 
that  as  yet  they  lived  apart. 

The  actual  marriage  was  celebrated  in  the  evening,  and 
began  with  a  procession,  headed  with  music,  and  accompanied 
by  the  distribution  of  oil,  wine  and  nuts.  Then  came  the 
bride,  veiled  and  accompanied  by  bearers  of  torches  and  flow- 
ers. When  she  arrived  at  her  new  home,  accompanied  by  "the 
children  of  the  bride-chamber,"  she  was  presented  to  the  bride- 
groom with  the  formula,  "Take  her  according  to  the  Law  of 
Moses  and  of  Israel."  Bride  and  groom  were  then  crowned  with 
wreaths  of  flowers.  Then  the  document  was  signed  which  pro- 
vided for  the  dowry  and  support.  Then,  after  ceremonial 
washings,  followed  the  marriage  feast,  which  often  lasted  a 
day  or  more;  and  then,  "the  friends  of  the  bridegroom"  con- 
ducted the  young  couple  to  their  own  chamber. 

Here  our  Lord  came  with  his  disciples  just  after  his  tempta- 
tion and  his  unalterable  decision  to  overcome  the  world.  Into 
the  world  with  all  its  life  and  daily  need  he  merged  from  the 
baptism  and  temptation.  It  was  no  ascetic  who  came  back 
among  men  from  the  temptation  and  the  triumph,  but  one 
who  was  still  in  sympathy  with  every  rational  and  justifiable 
interest  in  life.  It  was  no  pressing  case  of  need,  no  desperate 
sorrow  that  first  called  forth  his  divine  assistance,  but  the  gen- 
erous and  beautiful  desire  to  add  to  the  sum  of  human  joy. 
Life  is  real  and  earnest,  and  its  deep  concerns  are  serious  and 
even  strenuous,  but  Jesus  at  the  outset  of  his  ministry  showed 
his  abiding  sympathy  with  that  which  is  joyous  and  festal. 

God's  good  gifts  to  us  are  not  measured  by  our  absolute 
necessities.     It  is  his  delight  to  give  to  his  children  more  than 


THE    MARRIAGE    AT     CANA 


109 


they  need.  A  score  of  blossoms  shed  their  beauty  and  fra- 
grance upon  earth  for  every  one  that  is  necessary  for  fruit,  and 
the  fruit  is  more  abundant  than  the  necessity  of  seed.  Com- 
mentators interpret  Scripture  in  the  Hght  of  a  "law  of  parsi- 
mony" by  which  it  is  assumed  that  God  employs  no  needlessly 
great  cause  for  a  given  efifect;  and  that  the  supernatural  is  not 
to  be  assumed  where  the  facts  can  be  explained  by  the  nat- 
ural. It  is  a  good  and  wise  law;  but  it  must  not  be  applied  too 
narrowly.     God  rejoices  to  exceed  our  necessities    with    the 


THE    VILLAGE    OF    CANA 


plenitude  of  his  own  goodness  and  love.  I  have  often  thought 
that  this  first  miracle  of  Jesus  might  be,  among  all  he  wrought, 
most  truly  indicative  of  the  spirit  in  which  he  came.  Into  a 
company  not  oppressed  by  poverty  or  disease  or  sin,  he 
entered,  sharing  their  rejoicings;  and  the  majesty  of  his  power 
was  displayed  that  the  joy  of  men  might  grow  from  more  to 
more. 

It  is  with  pathetic  interest  that  we  remember  how  Jesus 
spoke  of  himself  as  the  bridegroom  come  to  bring  joy  to  his 
companions  who  could  not  fast  while  he  was  with  them.     We 


I  lO 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


remember  sadlv  that  lie  came  to  his  own  and  his  own  received 
him  not,  but  it  probably  would  be  a  mistake  to  think  of  Jesus 
as  habitually  sorrowful.  Deep  were  the  sorrows  of  his  life  and 
deep  were  the  sorrows  of  the  world  which  he  continually  faced, 
but  he  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the  shame  for  the  joy 
that  was  set  before  him.  and  he  taui^ht  his  disciples  to  love  and 
labor  that  his  joy  might  abide  in  them  and  that  their  joy  might 
be  full.  So  much  of  sorrow  waited  on  his  later  ministry,  that 
we  shall  do  well  to  cherish  the  memory  of  every  blessed  joy 
which  came  to  him  during  its  progress. 


CHRIST     AT    THE    DOOR — (HOFMANN,     1824 — ) 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  WHIP  OF  SMALL  CORDS 

Soon  after  the  wedding  in  Cana  Jesus  and  his  mother  and 
the  family  visited  Capernaum,  where  some  of  his  disciples 
lived  (John  2:  12),  and  there  evidently  did  some  teaching  and 
performed  some  works  of  power,  as  these  are  later  referred  to 
in  Nazareth  as  well  known  there  (Luke  4:  23).  But  the  visit 
to  Capernaum  was  a  short  one,  and  from  here,  probably  with- 
out returning  to  Nazareth,  Jesus  went  to  Jerusalem.  It  is  the 
first  recorded  visit  to  the  Holy  City  since  he  was  twelve  years 
of  age.  Meantime  he  had  become  a  man,  and  a  man  with  a 
mission.  With  what  emotions  did  he  now  approach  the  sacred 
temple,  the  scene  of  his  boyhood  inspiration,  and  of  his  future 
activity! 

Jerusalem  presents  a  beautiful  sight  to  the  visitor  from  Gali- 
lee. Enshrined  in  mountains,  flanked  by  deep  valleys,  the  hill 
of  Zion  rises  picturesque,  and  visible  afar.  The  high  walls  and 
massive  gates  make  it  appear  impregnable,  and  the  domes  and 
turrets  that  lift  themselves  above  the  walls  and  outline  their 
glittering  shapes  against  the  hills  and  the  sky,  show  a  city 
whose  beauty  can  but  exalt  the  imagination  and  quicken  the 
weary  step. 

According  to  the  scheme  of  chronology  which  we  are  fol- 
lowing, the  date  of  the  passover  which  John  mentions  was 
April  11-17,  A.  D.  27.  It  is  the  official  beginning  of  Christian- 
ity. It  is  marked  by  one  public  event  of  importance,  the 
cleansing  of  the  temple,  and  is  notable  as  the  occasion  of 
Jesus'  visit  with  Nicodemus. 

We  do  not  know  the  thoughts  of  Jesus  as  he  approached 
Jerusalem,  after  the  interval  of  eighteen  years.  He  remem- 
bered it  as  it  had  seemed  in  his  boyhood.  He  remembered 
the  wisdom   and   solemnity   of  the    doctors,     the    impressive 


112 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


apparel  of  the  priests,  the  dig-nity  and  grandeur  of  the  temple 
service.  The  real  Jerusalem  possessed  all  this,  and  much  beside 
that  was  less  pleasant  to  contemplate.  It  is  more  than  once 
recorded  that  Jesus  was  astonished  at  conditions  which  con- 
fronted him  in  his  ministry.  It  may  well  be  that  another 
instance  of  his  astonishment  meets  us  in  this  incident.  With 
swift  indignation,  as  though  the  awful  sacrilege  now  first 
became  fully  apparent  to  him,  Jesus  beheld  the  desecration  of 
his  Father's  house. 


^^^^^^^^■k 


.-?£^^ 


MOUNT     ZION 


He  who  approaches  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  in 
Jerusalem,  finds  the  court  in  front  thronged  with  peddlers  of 
pearl  crosses  and  rosaries,  olive-wood  souvenirs  and  cotton 
winding-sheets,  the  latter  printed  over  with  religious  inscrip- 
tions, and  carried  in  by  the  purchasers  to  fold  against  the 
Stone  of  Anointment,  and  be  laid  away  for  the  purchaser's  own 
entombment.  It  suggests  at  once,  but  does  not  equal,  the 
scene  in  the  outer  courts  of  the  temple  in  Jesus'  day.  Animals 
were  there  for  sale  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice,  as  people  coming 
from  distant  parts  had  occasion  to  buy  their  cattle  and  sheep. 
The  rental  on  the  pens  for  these  animals  went  to  the  priests. 
Doves  were  in  great  demand;  the  high  priest  Annas  had  a 


THE    WHIP    OF    SMALL    CORDS 


"3 


large  dove  farm  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  himself  dealt 
largely,  through  agents  or  employees,  in  this  traffic.  Then 
there  were  the  money-changers.  A  man's  gift  might  be  more 
or  less,  but  the  temple  tax  was  payable  in  the  sacred  shekel. 


YEMENITE    JEWS    IN    JERUSALEM 

Jesus  himself  paid  this  tax  in  the  Roman  drachma,  having  no 
patience  with  the  letter  of  a  law  that  destroyed  its  spirit  (Matt. 
17:24-27).  But  legally,  the  tax  was  payable  in  the  sacred 
coin,  now  rare,  the  shekel,  or  half-shekel,  believed  to  have 
been  coined  by  Simon  the  Maccabee.  To  change  the  various 
Roman  or  provincial  coins  for  shekels  was  the  business  of  the 
money-changers,  whose  stalls  paid  temple  rentals.  All  this 
made  the  outer  courts  a  noisy  and  profane  place,  where  the 


114 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


bleating  of  sheep,  the  lowing  of  cattle,  and  the  bargaining  of 
customers  and  venders  mingled  boisterously;  and  worst  of  all 
was  the  spirit  of  greed  cloaking  itself  under  the  form  of 
religion. 

Jesus  viewed  all  this  with  righteous  indignation.  Then  he 
hastily  gathered  some  cords  from  the  floor,  braided  them  into 
a  whip,  and  drove  the  oxen  and  their  masters  before  him. 
freed  the  doves,  and  overturned  the  tables  of  the  money- 
chancfers.     It  was  a  bold  thingf  to  do,  and  safe  because  bold. 


THE  DAMASCUS   GATE,    JERUSALEM 


The  consciences  of  the  evil-doers  proved  his  allies,  and  the 
temple,  for  a  brief  period,  was  unpolluted  by  trade.  Jesus  had 
had  his  first  battle  with  the  forces  of  evil,  and  had  prevailed. 

At  this  first  passover  in  his  ministry,  Jesus  attracted  the 
attention  and  profound  interest  of  one  great  man,  by  name 
Nicodemus,  one  of  the  chief  teachers  of  Jerusalem.  He  came 
to  Jesus  by  night,  whether  through  fear  or  for  the  sake  of 
quiet  and  uninterrupted  converse  we  do  not  know,  and  con- 
fessed at  the  outset  his  belief  that  Jesus  had  come  from  God. 

Jesus  answered,  "Ye  must  be  born  from  above." 


THE    WHIP    OF    SMALL    CORDS 


"5 


The  Jews  had  a  doctrine  of  regeneration,  but  it  was  essen- 
tially that  of  naturalization.  A  Gentile,  coming  as  a  proselyte, 
must  be  born  anew.  It  implied  that  the  proselyte  had  become 
dead  to  his  former  relationships,  and  had  entered  into  new 
ones;  his  brother,  his  father,  were  no  longer  his  next  of  kin. 
but  his  new  brethren  in  the  Jewish  commonwealth.  He  had 
entered  a  "kingdom,"  and  the  relations  of  that  "kingdom" 
were  not  merely  political  but  personal  and  social.     The  term 


THE   CITADEL   OF    ZION 


which  Jesus  so  commonly  used,  "the  kingdom  of  heaven"  or 
"the  kingdom  of  God."  was  not  invented  by  him.  but  was  in 
current  use.  Jesus  and  Nicodemus  were  both  talking  about 
"the  kingdom  of  God;"  they  used  the  same  language,  but 
with  very  different  meanings.  So,  too,  they  were  both  talk- 
ing of  a  new  birth,  and  the  language  employed  by  Jesus  was 
familiar  to  Nicodemus;  yet  he  stumbled  at  the  outset  in  his 
attempt  to  grasp  the  spiritual  meaning  of  Jesus.  It  would  not 
have  surprised  Nicodemus  had  Jesus  told  him  that  other  men 


110 


JKSUS    OF    NAZARKTH 


must  be  l)orn  anew.  Nicodennis  could  have  had  no  thought 
that  he  had  need  of  such  regeneration.  But  Jesus  ajiplied 
the  truth  to  Nicodcnius.  to  the  great  l^ewilderment  of  the 
learned  teacher.  In  the  midst  of  a  discourse,  at  once  profound 
and  simple,  he  announced  the  orig^in  and  purpose  of  his  own 
mission  in  the  world,  in  words  that  are  in  themselves  an 
evangel: 


THE   CLEANSING   OF  THE  TEMPLE 
(REMBRANDT.     16C6-1669)        (FROM    ORIGINAL    ETCHING,     1635) 


"For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  g-ave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  eternal  life"  (John  3:  16). 

The  need  of  regeneration  is  inherent  in  our  complex  nature. 
The  child  is  born  with  rich  spiritual  capabilities,  but  they  are 
all  latent.  Nothing  is  developed  at  the  outset,  save  necessary 
bodily  functions,  and  a  few  weak  animal  instincts.  The  little 
one,  born  of  the  flesh,  and  with  mind  enough  to  enable  the  fle.sh 


THE    WHIP    OF    SMALL    CORDS 


117 


to  provide  for  its  first  simple  and  reasonable  wants,  must  be 
born  from  above. 

One  by  one  the  higher  ([ualities  appear;  each  is  a  new  birth. 
The  love  of  beauty,  the  enjoyment  of  music,  the  response  to 
parental  affection — each  is  a  new  birth. 

We  hear  much  misleading-  talk  about  our  "sinful  nature." 
The  word  "nature"  as  thus  applied  is  most  ambiguous.  It  is 
natural  for  a  child  to  creep;  it  is  just  as  natural  for  a  man, 
having  learned,  to  walk.     But  the  ability  to  walk,    to    defy 


THE    RAILWAY    STATION,    JERUSALEM 


gravitation  and  stand  erect,  is  a  birth  from  above.  Scientists 
tell  us  that  our  erect  position  causes  us  many  diseases  of  the 
heart,  which  is  crowded  to  one  side,  and  of  the  digestive 
organs,  which  are  cramped  and  loaded  with  undue  w^eight  by 
our  walking  on  two  feet — in  a  word,  that  going  on  all-fours  is 
natural  to  man.  It  may  have  been  our  nature  once;  it  cer- 
tainly has  been  the  nature  of  every  child  among  us,  1:»ut  he  wdio 
should  now  gfo  on  all-fours  in  manhood,  merelv  because  it  is 
"natural,"  would  abase  himself.  Much  more  do  those  abase 
themselves  who  apologize  for  slaven,^  to  passion  because  it  is 


ii8 


JKSUS    OF    NAZARETH 


"natural."    There  is  a  higher,  even  though  an  unborn,  nature. 
When  a  httle  child  1  learned  Dr.  Watts'  poem: 

Let  dogs  delight  to  bark  and  bite 

For   God   hath   made   them   so; 
Let   bears  and   lions   growl  and   fight, 

For  'tis  their  nature  to. 

But  children,  you  should  never  let 

Your  angry  passions  rise: 
Your  little  hands  were   never  made 

To   tear   each   other's   eyes. 


i 

J 

A 

^^K^^M^S|^^^^^^R^^L 

<    fl 

^HIH^^I^B 

^M 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  * 

*^M 

^^^^^^^^^I^^H 

i^:m.^K^M 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

A   TEACHER   OF    ISRAfX 


Here  is  an  argument  based  on  the  inherent  spirituality  of  the 
child.  The  little  one  might  say,  "Why  should  'bears  and  lions 
growl  and  fight,'  and  not  I?  It  is  my  nature  to,  as  well  as 
theirs."  Yes,  and  it  is  his  nature  not  to.  He  has  another,  a 
higher,  nature.  And  if  th.e  child  should  say,  "My  little  hands 
are  well  adapted  to  the  tearing  of  eves — T  have  tried  it  and 


TIIR    WHIP    OF    SMALL    CORDS 


119 


know,"  he  may  be  answered  in  the  rebuke  of  his  own  con- 
science, which  is  as  real  as  his  finger  nails. 

The  need  of  regeneration  is  inherent,  and  universal.  Sin 
emphasizes  the  need,  but  did  not  create  it.  Every  man  has 
need  to  be  born  from  above.  First  is  the  natural,  then  the 
spiritual.     The  spiritual  self  is  as  real  as  the  physical  self.     But 


JESUS     AND    NICODEMUS — (UNKNOWN     GERMAN     ARTIST — OLD) 

as  the  physical  body  might  have  died  unborn,  so  may  also  the 
spiritual  life,  and  sometimes,  alas,  it  does  so. 

Jesus  believed  in  the  spirituality  of  man.  The  spiritual 
nature  which  man  already  has,  is  the  unfertilized  germ  of  the 
spiritual  life  to  be.  Quickened  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  made 
alive  to  its  own  powers  and  the  world's  true  needs,  the  real 
man  is  born  and  from  above. 


CHAPTER  X 


JESUS  AT  JACOB'S  WELL 


The  range  of  hills  which  forms  the  backbone  of  Palestine 
contains  one  remarkable  gap,  visible  even  from  the  Alediter- 
ranean.  Seen  from  the  valley,  Alounts  Ebal  and  Gerizim 
appear  like  romided  cones,  but  they  are  really  ridges,  between 
which  lies  the  valley  of  Shechem.  No  other  spot  in  all  Pales- 
tine is  so  fertile,  w^ell  watered,  or  desirable  for  habitation. 
The  two  mountains  run  nearly  east  and  west,  and  the  valley 
at  the  narrowest  point  is  hardly  more  than  five  hundred  yards 
in  width.  Between  the  two  mountains  stands  Nablous,  whose 
name  is  corrupted  from  Neapolis,  "the  new  city,"  and  is  the 
modern  representative  of  Shechem. 

Shechem  is  thirty  miles  from  Jerusalem  on  the  south  and 
the  same  distance  from  Ca?sarea  on  the  north.  It  is  sixteen 
miles  from  the  Jordan  and  about  the  same  distance  from  the 
sea.  The  low  gap  between  the  mountains  is  really  the  water 
shed,  and  from  it  in  either  direction  flow  the  streams  from  its 
multitudinous  springs,  eastward  to  the  Jordan  and  westward  to 
the  Mediterranean.  The  inhabitants  of  Nablous  say  that  there 
are  eightv  springs  within  and  around  the  city.  The  atmos- 
phere of  the  vallev  is  humid  as  compared  with  the  rest  of 
Palestine,  and  the  air  acquires  that  quality  lacking  elsewhere 
in  the  Holy  Land,  in  which  distant  objects  assume  soft  out- 
lines and  delicate  tints. 


JESUS    AT   JACOB'S    WELL 


121 


To  this  great  gap  in  the  hills  Abraham  had  directed  his  steps 
and  here  camped  by  the  oak  of  Moreh  (Gen.  12:6,  7),  and 
built  an  altar  unto  the  Lord.  Jacob  pitched  his  tent  to  the 
east  of  the  city  and  later  purchased  the  ground  from  Hamor, 
ruler  of  the  Hivites.  Here  he  dug  a  well,  and  near  it  his  son 
Joseph  was  buried.  (Gen.  33:  18-20;  Josh.  24:32;  John  4:5, 
6,  12;  Acts  7:  16.) 

In  the  fifth  century  before  Christ  occurred  that  break 
between  the  Jews  and  Samaritans  which  has  lasted    to    the 


ENTRANCE    TO    JACOB  S    WELL 


present  day.  A  young  Jewish  priest,  Manasseh,  had  married  the 
daughter  of  Sanballat,  the  Samaritan  governor,  and  refused 
to  leave  her  at  the  command  of  Nehemiah.  Returning  with 
his  wife  to  Shechem  he  was  received  by  his  father-in-law  and 
installed  as  the  high-priest  of  a  national  worship  in  which 
Jehovah  was  the  only  God  and  the  five  books  of  Moses  the 
only  law.  A  temple  was  built  on  the  top  of  Mount  Gerizim, 
already  sacred  with  its  associations,  and  there  the  Samaritan, 
people  gathered  annually  and  still  gather  to  celebrate  the 
feasts  of  the  passover.  Their  Pentateuch  contained  at  the 
end  of  the  Ten  Commandments  a  passage  commanding  wor- 


122  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

ship  on  Gerizim,  and  both  they  and  the  Jews  contended  earn- 
estly for  their  respective  forms  of  worship  each  chare^ing  the 
other  with  corrnpting  the  sacred  text.  The  controversy  was 
yet  warm  when  Jesus  sat  on  the  well,  and  it  is  no  nearer  set- 
tlement to-day,  though  the  number  of  the  Samaritans  has 
diminished  to  a  community  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty-five. 
They  still  worship  God  on  their  holy  mountain  and  keep  up 
their  succession  of  high-priests,  the  i)rcsent  high-priests  count- 
ing himself  successor  and  signing  himself  as  the  son  of  Aaron.* 

The  two  great  mountains  define  the  valley  and  make  plain 
the  most  immediate  locations  to  it.  It  is  thus  that  we  are  able 
to  identify  so  closely  the  scenes  of  this  journey  of  our  Lord. 
Joseph's  tomb  is  pointed  out  with  a  strong  probability  of  gen- 
uineness, and  Jacob's  well  is  still  there  identified  beyond  a 
reasonable  doubt.  It  is  a  deep  circular  well  whose  depth  has 
varied  at  different  times  as  it  has  been  partly  filled  up,  but  it 
is  probably  not  far  from  seventy-five  feet  deep.  The  curbstone 
is  worn  to  grooves  by  the  ropes  that  for  ages  have  drawn  water 
from  the  depths  below.  With  a  candle  one  may  look  down  the 
whole  distance  to  the  water,  and  with  a  rope  and  water-jar 
one  may  still  draw  water  as  in  the  early  days.  The  water  is 
cool  and  fresh.  I  drank  from  it  and  found  it  good,  and  the 
traveler  of  to-day  sitting  for  a  little  time  where  Jesus  sat  and 
drinking  of  the  water  that  he  drank,  goes  on  with  the  words  of 
the  Saviour  ringing  in  his  memory: 

"Every  one  that  drinketh  of  this  water  shall  thirst  again:  but 
whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall 
never  thirst;  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  become 
in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  up  unto  eternal  life"  (John 

4:  13.  m)- 

It  was  in  the  winter  of  the  year  28  that  our  Lord  passed 
through  Samaria.  The  month  was  probably  December,  for  it 
lacked  four  months  of  harvest.  His  disciples  went  into  the 
village  close  at  hand,  the  village  of  Sychar,  nearer  to  the 
well  than  Shechem,  and  now  identified  as  El-'Askar.     It  was 


*A  discussion  of  the  questions  of  the  value  of  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch 
is  contained  in  an  extended  article  by  the  author  in  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra 
for  October.   1903. 


JESUS   AT   JACOB'S    WELL 


123 


a  small  village  then  as  compared  with  the  somewhat  populous 
city  of  Shechem,  as  it  now  is  in  comparison  with  Nablous. 
While  Jesus  sat  on  the  well,  weary  and  thirsty,  a  Samaritan 
woman  came  to  draw  water.  Not  many  people  came  to  the 
well  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  for  though  it  was  winter,  the 


CHRIST    AND   IHE   WOMAN    OF    SAMARIA — (dORE,    1832-1883) 

sun  was  hot  and  burdens  were  carried,  when  possible,  earlier  or 
later  in  the  day.  There,  however,  the  woman  came,  and  Jesus 
talked  with  her.  A  request  for  water  is  the  most  common  of 
all  pleas  for  assistance  in  the  East,  and  he  would  be  counted 
most  inhospitable  who  refused  it  even  to  an  enemy,  but  so 
bitter  was  the  feud  between  the  Jews  and  Samaritans  that  the 
woman  wondered  at  his  asking-  for  a  drink.  But  the  woman's 
readiness  to  help  a  stranger  became  the  occasion  of  her  receiv- 
ing a  blessing  for  herself  and  her  country. 


124  JRSUS    OF    NAZARETH 

It  is  interestin.s:  to  find  that  through  the  woman's  wonder- 
ing testimony  the  whole  village  became  interested  in  Jesus, 
and  extended  to  him  its  hospitality.  Perhaps  the  first  group 
of  converts  abiding  in  a  single  place  and  sustaining  communal 
relations  to  each  other  was  in  that  Samaritan  town. 

Here  to  this  woman,  and  she  a  Samaritan  and  sinner.  Jesus 
confided  the  truth  of  his  Messianic  authority,  which  even  his 

**         Ag<?  ^v-^^^4v  '5*-  -fiv<?0^/a?  ^^^<"^  ^<y^^d^  /v 

v-^          ;.  .f  <♦  ^^J^        ^ '^  c'   -X     ^ 

THE     FA:\[nUS     PASSAGE    FOLLOWING      THE     TEN      COMMANDMENTS      APPOINTING 

GERIZIM    AS   THE   SANCTUARY — (fROM    A    SAMARITAN    PENTATEUCH 

PURCHASED    BY    THE    AUTHOR    FROM    THE    PRIESTS    OF 

SCHECHEM    IN     I9O2.       EXACT    SIZe) 

apostles  were  to  learn  much  later.  Here  under  the  shadow  of 
the  temple  of  a  heretical  religion  he  uttered  profounder  truths 
than  yet  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  had  heard.  Here,  where 
Abraham  first  camped  on  his  way  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees, 
and  built  his  first  altar,  and  offered  his  first  sacrifice.  Jesus 
revealed  the  fact  that  he  was  the  g-ift  of  God,  and  the  final 
sacrifice  for  the  world.  Here,  where  the  body  of  Joseph  was 
buried,  he  proclaimed  himself  as  greater  than  the  fathers,  even 
the  one  of  whom  it  had  been  written  that  his  soul  should  not 


JESUS   AT   JACOB'S    WELL 


\2- 


be  left  in  the  realm  of  the  dead  nor  his  tlesh  see  corruption. 
Here,  where  the  blessings  and  cursings  had  Ijeen  read  in  that 
scene  of  unrivaled  picturesqueness  and  solemnity,  he  came 
with  the  new  Law  whose  blessings  were  for  the  salvation  of  all 
men.  Here,  where  Jacob  had  dug  his  well,  he  discoursed  on 
the  water  of  life.  Here,  where  stood  the  monument  of  the 
unhappy  division  between  the  Jews  and  their  nearest  neigh- 
bors and  kinsmen,  he  uttered  the  prophecy  of  -the  universal 


JESUS    AND    THE    SAMARITAN     WOMAN — (rEMBRANDT,     1606-1669) 


and  spiritual  worship  of  God.  Here,  where  Samaritan  worship 
was  most  strongly  entrenched  and  prejudice  deepest,  he  began 
his  foreign  missionary  work  with  hopeful  results  and  a  promise 
of  larger  things. 

The  revelation  to  the  woman  at  the  well  grew  first  out  of  a 
real  need  on  the  part  of  Jesus.  His  request,  "Give  me  to 
drink,"  was  the  expression  of  his  own  genuine  thirst.  It  gives 
dignity  to  human  life  when  we  realize  that  God  really  needs 
us;  that  we  are  invited  "to  come  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord." 


126 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


But  a  deeper  reason  was  the  woman's  need.  Her  response 
to  the  need  of  Christ  was  the  condition,  though  unreahzed. 
of  her  recei\'ing-  the  water  of  Hfe.  It  is  ever  thus,  and  our 
wilHngness  to  serve  becomes  the  reason  of  the  blessings 
bestowed.  Jesus  needed  the  water;  the  Samaritans  needed  the 
water  of  life;  and  Jesus  "must  needs  go  tlirougli  Samaria" 
that  lie  might  open  a  new  and  living  fountain  there. 


I ACOE  S     WELL 


CHAPTER   XI 


HE  CAME  TO  HIS  OWN 

Among  the  saddest  words  written  about  our  Lord  are  those 
of  John,  "He  came  unto  his  own,  and  they  that  were  his  own 
received  him  not."  The  world  was  God's  already.  Jesus  had 
valid  claims  upon  the  love  and  service  of  men.  It  was  not  an 
unnatural  thing-  that  he  should  have  asked  their  affection  in 
return  for  that  love  which  he  lavished  upon  mankind,  or  their 
service  when  he  who  was  Lord  of  all  lived  among  men  as  he 
that  serveth.  If  mankind  had  been  of  the  devil,  and  the  process 
of  salvation  had  been  a  violent  wresting  of  men  away  from  the 
original  intent  of  their  being,  it  would  have  been  less  strange. 
It  would  not  then  be  a  wholly  surprising  thing  to  know  that 
he  came  to  those  who  were  Satan's  and  that  they  remained 
loyal  to  Satan.  But  the  world  was  God's  from  the  hour  when 
God  in  loving  self-abnegation  poured  his  own  life  into  the 
world;  and  men  were  Christ's  own  in  the  thought  of  God  from 
the  dawn  of  creation. 

We  are  intensely  interested  in  this  return  of  Jesus  to  his 
early  home.  This  had  been  his  first  long  absence  from  it,  we 
may  believe,  since  his  early  childhood.  There  are  times  when 
one  truly  comes  to  man's  estate  only  by  leaving  home  for  a 
season.  Many  a  man  can  remember  the  day  on  which  he  con- 
sciously grew  out  of  boyhood,  and  it  has  been  oftener  than 
otherwise  the  day  of  his  arrival  among  a  new  company  of  asso- 
ciates. Yesterday  he  was  a  lad  at  home  among  the  people 
who  had  known  him  from  his  cradle.  To  his  father  he  was  still 
a  little  boy,  and  his  mother  still  half  thought  of  him  as  her 
baby.  To  the  neighbors  he  was  one  of  a  group  of  lads,  grow- 
insr  fast,  to  be  sure,  but  still  a  lad.  To-dav  all  this  is  chang^ed. 
Awav  at  school,  in  business,  on  a  visit,  he  is  thrown  among  a 
group  of  self-reliant  young  men,  thinking  for  themselves,  act- 

127 


128  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

ing  without  asking  permission,  and  he  comes  into  their  privi- 
leges and  methods  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  the  boy  of  yes- 
terday is  the  young"  man  of  to-day. 

This  is  not  all.  He  has  a  new  scale  of  measurement.  He 
has  a  new  gauge  for  his  ambition.  He  is  more  of  a  man  not 
only  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellows,  but  also  in  his  own  self- 
consciousness.  His  home-going  is  a  very  different  thing  from 
his  departure.  He  left  his  home  a  lad;  he  returns  a  few  months 
or  even  weeks  later,  and  is  more  changed  than  those  who  see 
him  realize.  Of  the  quality  and  effect  of  that  change,  his 
home-going  is  the  test. 

Who  that  thinks  at  all  has  failed  to  wonder  that  any  young 
man  ever  aspires  to  be  better  or  greater  than  the  surroundings 
of  his  birth?  What  is  that  spirit  which  says  in  the  soul  of  a 
voung  man  who  has  never  healed  a  disease,  "I  am  a  physician," 
or  in  one  who  has  never  preached  a  sermon,  "I  am  called  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry,"  or  to  one  who  has  never  pleaded  a 
case,  "I  will  be  a  lawyer?"  Their  fathers  were  farmers  or  vil- 
lage shopkeepers;  how  should  their  sons  proclaim  themselves 
professional  men?  How  can  they  face  their  old  neighbors  with 
such  preposterous  claims?  No  wonder  they  go  away  from  home 
to  obtain  their  start  in  life;  and,  when  they  return  with  their 
professional  titles,  no  wonder  that  the  community  waits,  more 
than  half  skeptical,  to  see  what,  if  anything,  is  to  come  of  it  all. 

It  was  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  that  Jesus  returned.  The 
Spirit's  presence  was  no  new  experience  to  him,  but  the  scope 
of  the  Spirit's  power  was  enlarged  by  the  enlargement  of  his 
own  horizon.  We  are  perhaps  never  quite  sure  of  our  ground 
when  we  attempt  to  interpret  those  spiritual  experiences  of 
our  Lord  that  partly  accord  with  our  own  and  partly  trans- 
cend them.  But  this  we  know,  that  the  descent  of  the  Spirit 
upon  him  at  his  baptism  was  not  an  objective  fact  alone,  but 
that  it  made  visible  a  real  inward  experience.  And  when,  led 
of  the  Spirit,  and  sustained  by  the  Spirit,  he  went  into  the 
wilderness,  and  there  met  temptation  at  short  range  and  con- 
quered it,  we  may  be  sure  that  epoch  marked  in  his  own 
thought  a  real  spiritual  advance.     We  may  not  know  how  to 


HE    CAME    TO    HIS    OWN 


129 


interpret  it;  we  may  lack  words  to  make  it  real  to  ourselves; 
but  we  ought  to  assure  ourselves  that  the  Jesus  who  returned 
to  Nazareth  was  in  his  own  consciousness  a  man  of  wider  and 
deeper  spiritual  life  than  the  Jesus  who  had  left  Nazareth  to 
begin  his  ministry  as  a  companion  of  John  the  Baptist  and  thus 


A    PEASANT   FAMILY    OF    PALESTINE 


to  fulfil  all  righteousness.  Returning,  the  significant  change 
in  his  own  relation  to  the  world  lay,  as  Jesus  himself  expressed 
it,  in  his  larger  possession  of  the  Spirit.  It  was  the  truth 
which  registered  itself  in  his  own  consciousness;  it  is  the  theme 
of  his  address  to  his  own  people;  it  is  the  affirmation  which  the 
evangelist  records.  This  was  the  thought  of  the  Scripture 
passage  read  by  him  that  morning  from  Isaiah,  and  it  was  the 
fulfilling  of  that  Scripture  promise  that  constituted  his  theme. 


I30  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

It  might  help  us  to  understand  the  Christ  if  we  recalled 
oftener  the  Scripture  statements  of  his  possession  of  the  Spirit. 
It  was  of  the  Spirit  that  he  was  begotten;  in  his  growth  from 
childhood,  increasing  in  wisdom  and  in  stature,  the  S])irit  was 
his,  and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon  him;  with  that  Spirit  he 
was  baptized,  and  the  dove-like  descent  was  the  token  of 
inward  grace;  in  the  progress  of  his  ministry  it  became  appar- 
ent that  God  gave  not  the  Spirit  to  him  by  measure;  and  the 
Old  Testament  passages  which  pre-eminently  he  fulfilled  are 
those  which  define  his  glor}'  as  that  derived  from  the  trans- 
cendent possession  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

It  is  thus  necessary  to  suppose  that  Jesus'  own  apprehension 
of  the  nature  of  his  work  among  men  had  developed  during 
this  absence.  Certainly  he  seemed  changed  to  his  neighbors. 
He  had  sat  in  the  synagogue  all  through  his  boyhood,  had 
attended  school  there,  no  doubt,  and  there  had  heard  on  Sab- 
bath days  and  there  had  learned  to  read  on  other  days,  the 
words  of  the  law  to  which  this  day  he  listened  as  another  read. 
When  the  reading  of  the  prophets  was  due,  he  no  longer  sat, 
but  rose  and  ofifered  to  conduct  that  portion  of  the  service, 
and  afterward  to  speak.  It  was  a  new  thing  for  him  to  do,  and 
it  did  not  pass  unnoticed. 

But  it  was  no  new  thing  for  him  to  be  at  the  service  of  God's 
house.  He  went  to  the  synagogue  "as  his  custom  was."  Even 
to  the  Saviour  there  was  power  in  godly  habit.  Few  rela- 
tively of  our  acts  are  undertaken  with  a  process  of  conscious 
and  independent  reasoning.  Much  of  what  we  do  is  done 
under  the  momentum  of  habit.  Blessed  is  he  whose  habits 
are  those  which  conduce  to  worship  and  to  instruction  m 
righteousness. 

At  least  seven  persons,  as  a  rule,  participated  in  the  succes- 
sive reading  of  portions  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  services  of  the 
Jewish  synagogue.  Frequently  strangers  were  invited  to 
speak.*  Any  man  of  good  standing  in  the  community  and 
of  good  repute  for  learning  and  piety  might  be  called  upon  or 
might  volunteer  to  address  the  congregation.     Whether  the 

*As  in  Acts  13  :  15. 


HE    CAME    TO    HIS    OWN 


131 


Scripture  for  this  day  was  one  assigned,  or  whether  Jesus 
selected  the  passage  which  he  desired,  is  a  question  about 
which  scholars  have  different  opinions.  But  it  was  a  singu- 
larly felicitous  passage,  a  word  from  the  second  group  of 
prophecies  included  under  the  name  Isaiah,  the  great,  hopeful, 
illuminating  book  which  prepared  the  expatriated  nation  for  a 
return  to  its  own  land.      It  was  to  proclaim  the  set   time  of 


EMINENT    MEN    OF    PALESTINE 

God's  deliverance  that  the  words  had  been  spoken  and 
recorded;  and  it  was  a  larger  fulfilment  of  the  hope  of  deliv- 
erance which  Jesus  taught. 

All  such  prophecies  had  their  nearer  fulfilment.  All  of  them 
had  initial  reference  to  some  event  in  the  prophet's  own  life- 
time or  a  time  not  then  remote.  Rut  the  grandest  of  Old 
Testament  prophecies  overflow  the  narrow  banks  of  local  ful- 
filment, and  move  on.  deep  and  wide  and  majestic — so  deep 
and  wide  that  at  times  the  narrow  bed  of  the  original  mean- 
ing is  utterly  lost  to  sight — over  the  broad  flood-plain  of  their 
larger  ^NTessianic  hope  to  meet  the  incoming  tidal  revelation 


132  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

of  God's  redemptive  love  in  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  always  a  help 
when  we  are  able  to  discern  the  breadth  and  direction  of  the 
prophet's  initial  meaning;  but  it  is  a  sad  limitation  of  our  i)riv- 
ilege  in  Christ  if  we  confine  our  exploration  to  the  tortuous 
channel  of  the  prophet's  personal  vision,  and  fail  to  make  our 
own  the  swelling  stream  of  the  gospel's  majestic  overflow 
where  floats  secure!}-  the  ark  of  CJiod  with  the  rainbow  of  eter- 
nal hope  above  it. 

Jesus  did  not  wait  for  the  challenge  that  was  sure  to  come. 
His  old  friends  were  there,  full  of  curiosity,  which  varied  from 
a  languid  interest  in  the  message  itself  to  a  skeptical  and  hos- 
tile cynicism.  He  uttered  for  his  hearers  the  stinging  proverb 
with  which  they  were  ready  to  taunt  him.  Already  he  saw 
their  rising  opposition.  It  was  another  temptation  to  turn 
stones  to  bread,  and  to  use  his  power  to  secure  the  favor  of  his 
old  friends.  Above  that  temptation,  though  his  own  brethren 
and  late  employers  were  the  tempters.  Jesus  rose  with  dignity 
and  decision.  And  the  refusal  unmasked  in  an  instant  the  bit- 
terness and  scorn  which  curiosity  had  dissembled. 

The  efTect  was  instantaneous.  They  no  longer  wondered  at 
the  gracious  words  that  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth.  They 
no  longer  judged  the  Messenger  by  his  message,  or  gave  pre- 
tense of  a  courteous  hearing  to  a  new  gospel.  He  had  done  a 
few  mighty  works  in  Nazareth;  he  had  laid  his  hand  on  a  few 
sick  folk  and  they  had  been  healed.  But  he  could  do  little — 
here  is  the  inability  of  omnipotence — because  of  their  lack  of 
faith.  He  was  not  even  a  carpenter  to  his  neighbors  now.  He 
was  the  disappointed  promise  of  a  free  entertainment,  and 
they  scorned  him.  So  Jesus  was  rejected  because  he  refused  to 
use  his  divine  power  for  purposes  of  entertainment,  and  to 
satisfy  a  morbid  curiosity. 

The  Greeks  stumbled  through  their  philosophy,  but  not 
more  so  than  the  Jews  through  their  seeking  of  a  sign.  The 
supernatural  has  its  dangers  to  faith.  No  part  of  the  life  of 
lesus  bears  more  eloquent  testimony  to  his  divinity  than  the 
testraint  which  he  put  upon  it  in  the  manifestation  of  the 
supernatural.     The   times   have   not   yet    passed   when    people 


HE    CAME    TO    HIS    OWN 


133 


turn  their  backs  upon  the  church  in  (|uest  of  a  i;ospel  vvliich., 
denying'  matter,  uses  its  (|uasi  philosophy  for  ends  distinctly 
material;  nor  are  Christians  above  temptation  t')  make  perfect 
in  the  flesh  that  which  is  begun  in  the  Si)irit. 

What  a  message  it  was  to  which  Nazareth  stoj)ped  its  ears 
that  day!  It  was  a  message  that  had  in  it  no  i^roniise  of  loaves 
and  fishes,  no  offer  of  free  miracles  on   demand,   no   present 


PALESTINE    STREET    SCENE 


relief  from  the  sickness  and  care  of  earthly  life.  Signs  of  his 
supernatural  power  would  have  come  with  faith,  but  ihey 
were  distinctly  not  promised  as  a  result  of  it.  But  it  was  a 
message  of  good  news  for  the  poor,  healing  for  the  broken- 
hearted, liberty  for  those  in  bondage  to  sin,  vision  for  the  spir- 
itually blind,  help  for  the  bruised,  comfort  for  the  sorrowing, 
and  the  assurance  that  God's  good  time  was  at  hand.  And 
Nazareth  rejected  that  gospel  and  its  Messenger,  because  the 
Lord  of  glory  refused  to  work  miracles  for  free  entertainment 
and  for  local  self-gratulation. 


134  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

Jesus  wondered  at  it.  Let  us  not  in  our  timidity  explain 
away  the  precious  truths  of  our  Lord's  humanity.  The  Scrip- 
tures assure  us  that  it  was  a  sad  surprise  to  him.  He  had 
started  back  home  with  enthusiasm.  He  knew  the  personal 
needs  of  the  men  to  whom  he  was  going.  He  went  with  love 
and  expectancy.  But  the  day  or  days  that  intervened  between 
his  return  and  this  Sabl^ath  had  chilled  his  hope  and  rendered 
impotent  the  divine  effort  for  their  relief.  It  was  Jesus'  first 
bitter  disappointment,  and  it  drove  him  out,  homeless  and  dis- 
owned, a  man  without  earthly  kindred  or  an  earthly  home.  It 
was  a  part  of  his  bitter  cup  to  know  the  keenness  of  disap- 
pointment. He.  with  all  earth's  benefactors,  knew  the  mean- 
ing of  Kipling's  lines: 

And  when  your  goal  is  nearest, 

The  end  for  others  sought. 
Watch  sloth  and  heathen  folly 

Bring  all  your  hopes  to  naught! 

Sadly,  indignantly,  pitifully,  the  homeless  Saviour  turned 
away  from  his  own  people,  marveling  at  their  unbelief,  and 
learning  the  lesson  of  disappointment  which  had  its  part  in 
making  the  Captain  of  our  Salvation  perfect  through  suffering. 

It  would  not  be  so  bad  if  all  this  were  a  bit  of  ancient  his- 
tory. But,  alas!  to  this  day  the  sinless  and  sin-forgiving 
Saviour  comes  to  his  own,  and  they  that  are  his  own  receive 
him  not.  This  day,  more  than  in  that  day  when  Jesus  preached 
at  Nazareth,  is  fulfilled  in  our  ears  every  gracious  Scripture 
which  tells  of  the  benefits  of  his  salvation.  The  poor,  the 
broken-hearted,  the  captive,  the  blind  and  the  bondman, 
rejoicing  still  in  his  salvation,  testify  to  his  comfort  and 
vision  and  freedom  and  hope.  Alas  for  the  man  who  is  Christ's 
own — his  kinsman,  his  brother,  a  child  of  his  own  Father,  yet 
a  strange  and  unfilial  child,  who  turns  him  away.  For,  to  as 
many  as  receive  him,  to  them  gives  he  the  right  to  be  called, 
in  a  new  and  more  blessed  sense,  the  children  of  God,  even  to 
those  that  believe  on  his  name. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  HEALING  CHRIST 


Though  rejected  at  Nazareth,  and  living  for  a  time  in 
obscurity,  Jesus  was  welcomed  by  many  of  his  country- 
men who  had  been  much  impressed  with  his  teaching  and  his 
unrecorded  works  at  Jerusalem  (John  4:43-45).  Jesus  now 
remained  in  Galilee  from  about  the  first  of  January  until  near 
the  end  of  March.  Of  these  three  months  we  have  hardly  any 
clear  information.  It  is  possible  that  he  lived  unobtrusively 
in  Nazareth,  attracting  no  particular  attention.  The  only  time 
we  hear  of  him,  however,  he  is  at  Cana  (John  4:47),  and  it  is 
not  certain  that  Mary  and  her  family  were  not  residing  there, 
and  Jesus  with  them. 

We  come  thus  to  the  close  of  the  first  year  of  Jesus'  public 
ministry.  It  began  with  his  baptism  in  January,  27,  and  his 
public  introduction  to  his  work  in  Jerusalem  in  the  March  fol- 
lowing. We  know  almost  nothing  of  his  Judsean  ministry  from 
March  to  December,  and  practically  nothing  of  his  Galilaean 
ministry  from  January  to  March,  save  one  incident  which  we 
are  about  to  consider.  This  was  the  year  of  obscurity  in  the 
public  life  of  Jesus,  and  but  for  the  Gospel  of  John  we  should 
know  as  little  of  it  as  of  the  hidden  years  in  Nazareth. 

This  first  year  of  teaching  closed  with  a  miracle  of  healing. 
A  nobleman  from  Capernaum  sent  word  to  Jesus  that  his  son 
was  sick.  With  great  reluctance  Jesus  entered  upon  that 
course  which  was  certain  to  make  his  ministry  conspicuously 
one  of  miracle  working.  He  knew  that  once  begun  there  was 
no  stopping,  and  that  the  demand  for  miracles  would  increase 
until  it  ceased  to  be  the  cry  of  need  and  became  the  demand 
of  irreverent  curiosity.  "Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  ye 
will  in  no  wise  believe."  said  Jesus;  but  the  nobleman  cried, 
"Sir,  come  down  ere  my  child  die."    The  tender  heart  of  Jesus 

135 


136  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

was  melted  by  the  father's  entreaty.  "Go  thy  way,"  said  he, 
"thy  son  liveth"  (John  4:  46-54). 

We  are  told  that  this  was  Jesus'  second  miracle  at  Cana.  It 
was  very  different  from  the  first  one.  It  was  a  tvpe,  however, 
of  the  miracles  that  followed.  From  this  time  on  Jesus  became 
not  only  the  teacher.  l)ut  the  healer  of  men.  The  prominence 
given  tlienceforward  to  miracles  of  healin^^  justifies  our  paus- 
ing at  the  outset  to  consider  the  work  of  Christ  in  its  relation 
to  health  both  then  and  now. 

Jesus  had  no  fondness  for  being  known  merely  as  a  worker 
of  miracles.*  He  preferred  to  attest  his  power  and  truth  by 
moral  and  spiritual  evidences  rather  than  by  those  which  bred 
in  the  people  a  desire  for  the  unusual.  That  such  a  desire 
speedily  grows  abnormal,  he  well  knew,  and  to  that  fact  his 
experience  adds  new  evidence.  More  than  once  he  manifested 
great  reluctance  to  work  miracles,  and  repeatedly  he  forbade 
the  knowledge  that  he  had  done  so  to  be  published.  The 
supernatural  was  the  resort  of  every  charlatan  and  fraud;  Jesus 
made  his  appeal  to  the  heart  and  conscience.  Jesus  was  reluc- 
tant to  have  men  think  it  their  duty  to  believe  because  of  his 
power  to  reward  or  punish  them;  he  would  have  them  believe 
because  of  their  love  of  truth  and  goodness.  He  shrank  from 
seeming  to  bribe  them  to  be  good  by  means  of  his  miracles, 
and  preferred  that  men  should  hear  his  truth,  and  see  his  life, 
and  believe  in  God  who  had  sent  him. 

The  final  test  of  truth  can  never  be  the  apparent  attestation 
of  what  appears  to  be  the  supernatural.  The  last  appeal  is 
ever  to  the  reason  and  the  conscience  of  men.  Far  back  in  the 
Old  Testament  times  men  were  warned  against  following  a 
new  religion  simply  because  it  was  accompanied  by  signs  and 
wonders: 

"If  there  arise  among  you  a  prophet,  or  a  dreamer  of  dreams, 
and  he  give  thee  a  sign  or  a  wonder,  and  the  sign  or  the  won- 
der come  to  pass,  whereof  he  spake  unto  thee,  saying.  Let  us 
go  after  other  gods,  which  thou  hast  not  known,  and  let  us 
serve  them;  thou  shalt  not  hearken  unto  the  words  of  that 


*A  portion  of  this  chapter  is  condensed  from  my  book  "Faith  as   Re- 
lated to  Health." 


THE     HEALING     CHRIST 


137 


prophet,  or  that  dreamer  of  dreams;  for  the  Lord  your  God 
proveth  you,  to  know  whether  ye  love  the  Lord  your  God 
with  ah  vour  heart  and  with  all  your  soul.  Ye  shall  walk  after 
the  Lord  your  God,  and  fear  him,  and  keep  his  command- 
ments, and  obey  his  voice,  and  ye  shall  serve  him,  and  cleave 
unto  him"  (Deut.  13:  1-4). 

If  we  were  forever  committing  our  faith  to  that  which  comes 
to  us  with  an  air  of  mystery,  we  should  have  before  us  a  per- 


christ  healing  the  sick 

(rembrandt,  1606-1669) 

(from  the  famous  "hundred  guilder  etching") 

petual  phantom  chase.  Even  though  signs  and  wonders  be 
shown,  even  though  prophecies  are  made  and  fulfilled,  the 
final  test  is  the  value  of  the  revelation  to  the  lives  of  men. 
If  a  man  is  tied  with  ropes  and  shut  into  a  cabinet  and  the 
lights  are  turned  down,  and  strange  things  occur,  the  final 
question  is  not  whether  I  can  explain  his  loosening  of  the 
knots,  but  whether  the  revelation  made  in  the  dark  is  of  real 
value  to  the  assembled  audience.  If  a  pencil  is  put  wdthin  a 
folded  slate,  and  later  waiting  is  found  within,  the  final  ques- 
tion is  not  whether  I  can  explain  the  means  by  w-hich  the  writ- 


138  JKSUS    OF    NAZARETH 

ing  has  been  accomplished,  but  whether  the  alleged  revelation 
has  really  added  to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge.  If  a  man 
establishes  a  new  religion  and  works  cures,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  prove  that  all  who  are  alleged  to  have  been  helped  by  him 
grow  sick  again,  but  only  to  incjuire  whether  any  new  ])rinciple 
has  been  discovered  which  makes  for  the  permanent  advan- 
tage of  men  and  women.  Between  the  false  and  the  true,  the 
pretender  and  the  real  bearer  of  a  message  from  God,  we  must 
discern,  not  by  a  comparison  of  wonders  which  make  the  curi- 
ous gaze,  but  by  evidences  of  sincerity,  unselfishness  and  good- 
ness. The  working  of  cures  can  never  attest  as  divine  an 
alleged  revelation  accompanied  by  vulgarity,  cupidity  and 
pretense. 

Besides  being  a  most  uncertain  proof  of  the  divinity  of  the 
faith  which  it  proclaims,  the  supernatural,  so  called,  has  other 
serious  disadvantages.  It  tends  to  disturb  faith  in  the  good- 
ness of  the  established  order  of  things.  It  sets  us  to  looking 
for  God  in  his  unusual  manifestations,  and  to  ignoring  an 
"earth  crammed  with  heaven,  and  every  common  bush  afire 
with  God."  It  discounts  God's  habitual  methods,  and 
enhances  unduly  those  which  are  exceptional.  It  tends  to 
divert  men's  minds  from  the  real  essence  of  the  divine  revela- 
tion, and  to  fix  their  attention  upon  the  accessories  thereof. 
It  creates  a  morbid  craving  for  more  of  the  mysterious,  and  so 
forever  stimulates  what  it  cannot  satisfy,  an  appetite  for  the 
marvelous  and  the  abnormal.  It  creates  new  and  false  tests 
of  truth,  and  refuses  to  accept  truth  except  as  it  becomes 
more  or  less  mysterious  and  unnatural.  It  sets  a  wicked  and 
adulterous  generation  to  seeking  signs  and  wonders,  whi  :h 
seeking  they  substitute  for  a  search  after  righteousness. 

"Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  ye  will  not  believe."  said 
Jesus  reproachfully.  What  was  even  worse,  they  would  not 
believe  after  they  had  seen  them,  as  he  himself  knew.  "If  they 
believe  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they  believe 
though  one  rose  from  the  dead."  The  miraculous  as  a  means 
of  conversion  was  a  conspicuous  failure  in  Christ's  day.  He 
did  not  rely  upon  it.     He  rebuked  the  craving    for    it.     He 


THE     HEALING     CHRIST  139 

taught  men  to  believe  in  truth  and  goodness,  and  not  to 
demand  those  exhibitions  which  in  false  teachers  so  readily 
become  mere  feats  of  fortune-telling  and  legerdemain.  It  is 
better  for  a  man  to  believe  through  a  miracle  than  not  to 
believe  at  all;  but  "Blessed  are  those  who  have  not  seen,  and 
yet  have  believed."  Blessed  are  those  to  whom  God  is  real, 
not  in  the  unusual  only,  but  in  all  the  normal  exhibitions  of 
his  righteous  and  inviolable  laws. 

I  have  great  patience  with  men  who  find  it  dif^cult  to  believe 
in  miracles.  In  so  far  as  Christianity  has  miracles,  they  are  a 
means  to  an  end,  which  end  is  faith  in  Christ.  If  that  end  be 
attained  without  them,  the  miracles  need  impose  no  added 
burden.  The  moment  they  impede  faith,  they  may  be  allowed 
to  stand  aside  for  the  help  of  those  to  whom  they  are  of  real 
assistance,  while  those  souls  that  do  not  find  help  in  them, 
find  God  through  such  agencies  as  he  uses  for  their  assist- 
ance and  enlightenment.  The  man  who  derives  no  help 
from  miracles  will  not,  if  he  is  wise,  deny  them;  to  other  souls 
they  have  their  meaning.  But  he  need  not  wait  to  find  God 
through  the  means  which  Christ  counted  of  lesser  importance, 
if  God  has  made  himself  plain  through  means  that  appeal  to 
him  as  more  truly  spiritual. 

Miracles  have  still  their  evidential  value  to  us,  and  to  the 
greatest  of  them,  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  Christianity  itself 
affords  nineteen  centuries  of  unbroken  testimony.  This  is  the 
only  miracle  which  the  modern  Christian  need  trouble  himself 
to  prove.  So  far  as  the  others  are  important,  they  follow  read- 
ily from  this.  Some  miracles  were  less  important  than  others 
when  they  were  wrought,  and  some  had  a  greater  impressive- 
ness  and  value  to  their  own  age  than  they  can  possibly  have 
to  a  later  time.  He  who  believes  that  Jesus  Christ  rose  again 
from  the  dead,  and  that  he  lives  still  in  the  life  of  heaven  and 
of  the  world,  need  not  trouble  himself  because  some  of  the 
other  miracles  give  him  difficulty.  Nevertheless,  one  has  only 
to  compare  the  miracles  recorded  of  Christ  with  the  apocry- 
phal miracles  and  the  alleged  miracles  of  other  religions,  to  be 
struck  at  once  with  the  contrast.     The  miracles  of  Christ  form 


I40  JF.SUS    OF    NAZARETH 

a  cycle  attesting;^  his  power  over  natural  and  spiritnal  forces. 
They  are  full  of  dignity  and  majesty  and  strength.  They 
appeal  not  to  men's  love  of  the  marvelous,  but  to  their  spirit- 
ual nature.  They  exhibit  a  sympathy  and  a  self-control  which 
are  the  perfection  of  the  human  and  the  divine.  They  are  free 
from  all  ostentation  and  pretense.  They  are  free  from  all  tim- 
idity on  the  one  hand,  and  from  all  striving  after  effect  on  the 
other.  They  are  free  from  all  appeal  to  superstition  and  from 
self-advertising.  They  are  free  from  all  grotesqueness  and 
from  all  pandering  to  vulgar  curiosity.  They  are  full  of  a 
grace  which  belongs  to  no  other  prophet  or  religious  teacher. 
Thev  are  full  of  a  conscious  power  which  never  shrank  from 
the  extremity  of  human  need,  and  never  exceeded  by  any 
effort  at  display  the  occasion  which  evoked  them.  They  are 
simple,  beautiful  and  convincing.  They  were  done  in  the  day- 
light. Their  motive  was  transparent,  and  their  result  was 
immediate  and  easily  tangible  to  the  senses.  They  are  ever  for 
moral  or  spiritual  ends,  and  exhibit  beautifully  and  helpfully 
the  pow'er  of  God  in  its  various  moral  relations.  They  are 
appropriate,  masterful,  and  worthy  of  the  Son  of  God. 

It  is  the  regular  method  of  the  imposter  to  make  his  claim 
at  the  outset,  and  w^ork  his  wonders  to  prove  it.  Christ 
wrought  very  dififerently.  He  began  by  preaching  the  good 
tidings  of  the  approach  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  veiUng  his 
power,  keeping  it  in  the  background,  using  it  sparingly,  often 
reluctantly,  and  only  when  there  was  special  occasion. 

Still,  he  who  claimed  to  be  the  Son  of  God  must  give  reason- 
able evidence,  not  only  of  goodness,  but  of  power,  and  of  that 
power  manifest  for  moral  ends.  So  Jesus  wrought  from  time 
to  time  such  w^orks  as  were  necessary  to  impress  his  own  age 
with  a  conviction  that  he  had  come  from  God.  He  proved 
that  he  had  power  over  nature,  power  over  sickness  and  sin 
and  all  the  forces  of  evil,  and  power  over  the  hearts  and  lives 
of  men.  Largely  his  miracles  were  works  of  healing,  for  of 
such  there  was  pressing  need.  It  may  be  that  a  mere  arithmet- 
ical comparison  does  not  give  us  in  right  proportion  his  own 
thought  of  the  legitimate  objects  for  display  of  divine  power. 


tup:    healing    christ 


141 


It  mav  1)6  that  he  would  have  preferred  a  larger  j^roportion  of 
other  manifestations  of  the  di\'ine  nature.  He  could  not  escape 
from  men's  infirmities,  and  so  he  liealed  and  comforted.  But 
his  first  miracle  was  wroug'ht  to  add  to  human  pleasure  (John 
2:  i-ii);  the  one  miracle  recorded  by  all  four  evangelists  was 


CHRIST   RAISING   THE   DAUGHTER   OF   .TAIRUS 
(GUSTAV   RICHTER.    1823-1884) 

not  of  healing-  but  of  feeding  (Matt.  14:  19,  20;  Mark  6:35- 
44;  Luke  9:12-17;  John  6:5-13);  the  miracle  by  which  he 
brought  his  disciples  to  him,  and  by  which  he  defined  their 
future  work  as  his  followers,  w-as  to  profit  them  in  their  regular 
method  of  getting  a  living  (Luke  5:  i-ii);  and  the  only  one  by 
which  in  part  he  sought  to  help  himself,  was  wrought  to  pay 
the  tax  collector  (Matt.  17:24-27).     God's  powder  is  for  life's 


142  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

normal  functions,  and  not  wholly  for  its  remedial  necessities. 
It  is  entirely  possible,  therefore,  that  our  study  of  Christ's 
miracles  has  led  us  to  think  too  much,  relatively,  of  those  of 
healing,  because  of  their  numerical  preponderance.  We  may 
err  in  supposing  God's  work  to  be  remedial  rather  than  con- 
structive. It  may  be  that  in  God's  thought  the  remedial  is  the 
incidental,  and  the  constructive  is  the  essential  in  the  mission 
of  Christ.  It  may  well  be  that  the  mission  of  Christ  to  men  con- 
cerns, more  definitely  than  we  sometimes  think,  their  accus- 
tomed vocations,  their  daily  problems,  and  even  their  normal 
recreations  and  pleasures. 

But  Christ  was  constantly  pressed  upon  by  the  world's  neces- 
sities. The  unending  groan  of  pain,  that  from  the  dawn  of 
history  has  been  wrung  from  the  heart  of  this  sad  earth, 
smote  ever  on  his  sympathetic  ear.  What  works  he  might 
have  wrought  in  a  world  with  less  stern  necessities,  we  may 
perhaps  debate,  but  it  was  a  world  of  pain  and  sorrow,  a  world 
w^ith  little  skill  in  healing,  a  world  with  great  ignorance  of  the 
laws  of  health,  into  which  he  came.  He  went  about  doing 
good,  and  he  did  the  good  that  was  most  needed,  whether  its 
specific  form  best  represented  his  mission  or  not.  When  the 
leper  cried,  "Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  tliou  canst  make  me  clean," 
he  did  not  stop  to  ask  whether  he  was  healing  lepers  out  of 
proportion  to  their  number — he  healed  the  man  before  him. 
So,  teaching  and  healing,  he  lived  his  wonderful  life.  Men's 
bodily  needs  and  men's  spiritual  needs,  he  met  them  both. 
Upon  his  own  loving,  generous  heart  he  took  the  burden  of 
the  world's  sickness  and  sin.  "Himself  took  our  infirmities, 
and  bare  our  sicknesses." 

The  question  may  be  asked  by  some  reader  whether  God 
still  works  cures  in  answer  to  prayer;  and  if  so,  how,  among 
many  systems  claiming  to  work  cures,  we  may  know  which 
is  truly  from  God.  In  another  book  I  have  attempted  to  answer 
this  question  more  fully  than  is  possible  here.  But  I  n^.ay  say 
that  I  believe  God  still  hears  and  answers  prayer,  for  our 
bodies  and  for  our  souls. 

But,  if  by  answering  our  prayers  God  intended  to  do  what- 


THE     HEALING     CHRIST 


143 


ever  we  think  we  want,  we  should  never  dare  to  pray.  These 
bodies  of  ours  are  not  constructed  for  immortahty,  nor  is  this 
world  God's  best.  Every  man  and  woman  of  us,  save  the  few 
who  are  to  live  till  life  becomes  a  burden,  and  those  to  be 
overtaken  by  sudden  death,  will  one  day  face  death  with  long- 
ings for  life,  and  prayers  that  God  will  raise  us  up.  We  ought 
so  to  pray.  We  have  no  right  to  want  to  die  while  we  are  able 
to  live  and  help  the  world.  We  shall  pray  to  live,  and  in  so 
praying  we  shall  do  our  duty.  But  in  God's  good  time,  he  will 
hear  that  prayer,  and  will  answer  it  by  taking  us  to  the  life 
everlasting  and  to  larger  service. 

There  is  more  divine  healing  than  at  first  we  recognize  as 
such.  All  healing  is  divine.  We  wrongly  restrict  the  mean- 
ing when  we  apply  it  only  to  those  cures  which  proceed  from 
immediate  religious  influence.  Every  cure  is  an  answer  to 
prayer,  prayer  that  in  many  cases  has  been  wrung  from  the 
heart  of  sobbing  centuries,  and  whose  answer  is  revealed  in 
some  new  method  of  saving  life. 

Let  me  suppose  two  cases  of  men  equally  sick,  and  both 
beyond  present  human  help.  In  the  one  case  Christian  men, 
uniting  their  prayers  and  faith,  surround  the  bed,  and  pray  for 
recoverv,  and  recovery  comes.  They  do  not  see  that  human 
means  have  availed,  save  those  consequent  upon  prayer.  Let 
them  be  thankful,  and  beheve  that  their  prayer  has  been 
answered.  Still  the  case  remains  an  isolated  one,  remarkable 
and  accounted  divine  just  because  it  is  unusual.  In  the  other 
case,  after  centuries  of  effort  and  pain,  and  the  unwearied  toil 
of  generations  of  physicians,  some  of  whom  prayed  and  some 
of  whom  did  not,  a  remedy  is  found,  which  saves  that  man's 
life  not  only,  but  remains  a  permanent  addition  to  human 
knowledge,  a  truth  whose  benefits  are  to  accrue  to  all  genera- 
tions. Perhaps  the  last  man  who  made  the  discovery  did  not 
pray  at  all;  perhaps  the  first  man  saved  had  no  faith  in  prayer. 
Nevertheless,  I  say  that  if  one  and  only  one  of  those  cases  is 
to  be  accounted  divine  healing,  the  one  better  deserves  the 
name  which  represents  the  discovery  of  a  permanent  divine 
truth.      I  do  not  choose  between  them.     I  count   them  both 


I_^_^  JKSUS    OF    xXAZARRTH 

divine,  but  if  I  had  to  choose  the  one  or  the  other,  I  should 
choose  the  one  which  stands  for  the  larger  human  s^ain. 
the  one  which  has  come  as  the  result  of  both  prayer  and  effort, 
and  which  abides  as  the  answer  to  a  thousand  prayers  yet  to  be 
ofifered. 

We  cannot  afford  from  our  discovery  or  half-disco/ery  of 
natural  laws,  to  deduct  a  false  philosophy  that  rules  out  God. 
God  lives  and  reigns,  and  generation  by  generation  men  are 
learning  better  by  what  methods  to  become  workers  with  him. 

Through  the  skill  and  the  blunders  of  the  physicians, 
through  the  prayers  and  the  toil  of  friends,  through  the  heart- 
breaking disappointments  and  the  glad  rejoicings,  we  are 
learning  better  God's  ways  of  restoring  health.  This  is  from 
God. 

Through  much  pain  and  great  needless  suffering,  we  are 
coming  to  a  better  knowledge  of  the  laws  by  which  health  may 
be  maintained.  Cures  are  from  God,  much  more  so  that 
soundness  of  health,  that  wholeness  of  body,  which  needs  no 
healing. 

The  average  of  human  life  grows  steadily.  The  thoughts 
and  purposes  of  men  grow  large.  So  moves  the  world  toward 
its  larger  and  better  future,  and  God  lives  more  in  the  life  of 
men.  This  is  the  source  of  health,  of  wholeness,  of  holiness, 
and  these  all  are  from  the  same  root.  Trusting  in  him,  we 
shall  find  strength  for  life's  inevitable  sorrows.  Trusting  in 
him  we  shall  find  strength  sufficient  for  sickness  and  for  health, 
for  life  and  for  death,  for  earth  and  for  heaven;  and  through 
that  trust  we  shall  find  health  and  wholeness  for  our  bodies 
and  our  spirits  which  are  his. 

Jesus  was  right  in  judging  that  the  working  of  such  a  mir- 
acle as  the  healing  of  the  nobleman's  son  would  advertise 
widely  his  power  as  a  healer.  In  his  first  circuit  of  Galilee,  he 
healed  a  leper  (Matt.  8:  2;  Mark  i:  40;  Luke  5:  13).  The 
leper  had  heard  of  him  and  believed  in  his  power.  "Lord,  if 
thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me  clean."  How  could  Jesus  resist 
such  an  appeal? 

Pitiable  indeed,  was  the  condition  of  the  victim  of  this  ter- 


THE     HEALING     CHRIST 


145 


rible  disease.  Doomed  to  banishment  from  home,  to  weary 
wanderini^s,  to  be  shunned  of  all  men,  and  finally  to  die,  alone 
and  unwept — no  fate  could  possibly  be  more  sad  than  this. 
The  leper  had  heard  of  Jesus  in  some  way;  had  probably 
learned  of  the  healin^■  of  the  nobleman's  son,  and  had  come 
to  believe  that  he  who  could  free  the  spirit  of  man  from  the 
power  of  evil  spirits,  could  free  the  body  from  the  most  ter- 
rible disease.  At  first  the  thought  may  have  been  a  mere  ques- 
tion, growing"  into  a  conjecture,  and  this  into  a  belief,  at  length 
intensified  into  a  living  faith  in  the  power  of  Christ. 


A  GROUP  OF  PALESTINE  LEPERS 


So  far  as  we  know',  this  w^as  the  first  human  acknowledgment 
of  the  divine  power  of  Jesus,  excepting  the  testimony  of  John 
the  Baptist  "Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  \vorld;"  and  the  confession  of  Nicodemus,  "Rabbi, 
we  know  that  thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God."  But  one  of 
these  men  was  the  appointed  forerunner  of  Christ,  and  the 
other  was  "the  teacher  of  Israel,"  and  this  man  who  professed 
equal  faith,  was  a  leper  and  an  outcast. 

"If  thou  wilt,"  said  the  leper.  How^  improbable  it  seemed 
that  the  great  high-priest  would  come  near  one  so  vile.  Well 
the  leper  remembered  the  last  time  he  had  seen  a  priest  of 


146  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

God.  There  had  begun  to  be  a  suspicion  among  his  neighbors 
that  he  showed  the  signs  of  incipient  leprosy;  he  denied  the 
imputation  at  first,  indignantly,  then  less  confidently,  and  at 
length  fearfully,  desperately,  as  the  evidence  of  the  disease 
grew  more  terribly  strong.  At  last,  he  was  openly  charged 
with  leprosy  and  brought  before  the  priest.  Shut  up  for  seven 
days,  he  emerged  from  his  prison  with  the  fatal  scab  more 
extended,  and  was  ofificially  pronounced  unclean,  and  sen- 
tenced from  that  time  forth,  so  long  as  he  should  live,  by  one 
who  was  at  once  the  legal  magistrate  and  the  divine  oracle, 
to  rend  his  garment,  and  with  bare  head  and  covered  lips,  to 
dwell  without  the  city,  crying  to  all  who  might  pass  his  way, 
"Unclean!  unclean!  unclean!"  From  that  day,  he  had  gone 
forth  a  wanderer  upon  the  earth,  branded  as  indubitably  as 
Cain  with  what  was  su])posed  to  be  the  mark  of  his  sin; 
shunned  of  all  men.  and  especially  of  good  men.  Would  Jesus 
look  at  him?  The  more  he  heard  of  the  power  of  Jesus,  the 
more  certain  it  seemed  that  he  had  come  from  God.  The 
more  terrible  his  own  condition  became,  the  greater  seemed 
the  distance  between  Christ  and  himself.  How  should  he 
approach  him?  It  was  against  the  law  for  him  to  salute  any 
man  by  the  way.  What  could  he  say  to  Christ  which  would 
make  him  pity  his  deplorable  condition,  and  not  turn  away 
in  disgust  from  his  loathsomeness?  These  were  hard  questions. 
The  risk,  however,  was  not  great,  for  life  admitted  no  possibil- 
ity much  worse  than  he  was  experiencing.  Though  the 
attempt  was  illegal,  and  success  very  uncertain,  he  came  kneel- 
ing, beseeching,  and  professing  his  faith.  "Tf  thou  wilt,  thou 
canst,"  he  said.  "I  will,"  replied  the  kind  voice  of  the  Master, 
"Be  thou  made  clean."  Christ's  willingness  was  estal)lished  and 
so  was  his  power.  Manv  lepers  afterward  came  to  him.  and  all 
were  cleansed;  singly,  in  pairs,  in  groups  of  ten  he  healed  them. 
This  man  he  not  only  healed,  but  touched.  How  gracious  was 
the  touch,  and  how  full  of  power! 

Soon  after  his  removal  to  Capernaum,  another  notable  case 
of  healing  occurred.  A  paralytic,  carried  by  four  friends,  was 
brought  to  the  house  where  he  was  preaching,  and  when  the 


THE     HEALING     CHRIST 


147 


crowd  prevented  their  coming  to  him,  they  ascended  the  flat 
roof,  and  removing  some  of  the  tiles,  let  the  sick  man  down 
at  his  feet  (Matt.  9:  1-8;  Mark  2:  i-u;  Luke  5:  17-26).  "And 
Jesus  seeing  their  faith  saith  unto  the  sick  of  the  palsy,  Son, 
thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee." 

Who  said  anything  about  sins?    It  was  paralysis  that  ailed 


JESUS   AND  THE   PARALYTIC 


the  man,  and  that  was  what  brought  him  to  Jesus.  The  scribes 
and  Pharisees  thought  it  presumptuous  for  Jesus  to  talk  about 
forgiving  sins,  and  the  sick  man's  friends  may  well  have  con- 
fessed to  a  feeling  of  disappointment.  He  had  sins,  01  course, 
but  these  were  not  what  had  given  his  friends  concern.  If  thev 
could  only  get  him  so  that  he  could  work  for  his  living,  he 
might  consider  his  sins  later,  and  repent  of  them  when  times 


148  JESUS    OF    NAZARI'TII 

were  better,  or  after  he  liad  had  opportunity  to  think  about 
something'  beside  his  physical  ills.  This  may  have  been  what 
his  friends  thought  about  it,  and  the  man  himself  may  have 
had  some  such  feelings.  Certainly  a  feeling  akin  to  this  under- 
lies a  good  deal  of  the  philosophy  of  a  certain  type  of  modem 
benevolence.  It  says,  "Do  not  preach  to  men  who  are  hun- 
gry; give  them  something  to  eat.  Do  not  trouble  men  with 
theology,  but  work  for  the  eight-hour  law.  One  world  at  a 
time  is  enough;  leave  God  and  heaven  until  we  know  more 
about  them,  and  give  your  energies  to  solving  the  bread-and- 
butter  problem,  and  the  needs  which  press  upon  men  and 
women  with  long  hours  and  small  wages.  It  is  their  sickness 
and  their  hunger  which  should  concern  you.  They  have  sins 
enough  in  all  conscience,  but  it  will  be  time  enough  to  talk 
about  them  when  men  are  better  fed  and  clothed  and  housed." 

The  Church  is  not  to  any  great  extent  an  employer  of 
labor,  or  a  producer  of  material  wealth.  It  possesses  few 
opportunities  of  securing  employment  for  men,  or  of  raising 
their  wages,  or  of  assisting  them  to  market  their  commodities. 
Its  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  Wherefore,  there  are  many 
who  say:  "What  is  the  Church  good  for,  and  why  should  we 
go  to  church  at  all?"  There  are  thousands  of  men  who  are 
perfectly  willing  to  go  to  church  if  the  church  will  distribute 
soup  tickets,  but  who  will  pass  its  doors  in  open  and  avowed 
contempt  if  the  church  have  nothing  to  offer  them  but  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  and  joys  of  honest  living.  There  are  people 
to-day  who  want  bodily  healing,  but  who  care  little  for  spiritual 
grace;  who  are  very  willing  to  be  fed,  but  who  do  not  hunger 
and  thirst  after  righteousness. 

Let  us  not  judge  these  men  too  harshly.  There  are  many 
of  them  who  bear  heavy  burdens  in  life,  and  who  seek  for  some 
sort  of  sympathy  and  help  in  the  midst  of  life's  troubles  and 
cares.  Though  they  seek  never  so  selfishly  and  unwisely,  how 
shall  the  Church  of  Christ  deny  them  the  comfort  of  genuine 
sympathy  that  surely  is  their  right  and  our  duty?  Jesus  did 
little  to  ameliorate  the  conditions  of  his  own  day  and  time.  It 
was  a  poverty-stricken  country  to  which  he  came,  and  he  left 


THE     HEALING     CHRIST  149 

it  still  groaning-  because  of  the  sterility  of  the  soil  and  the 
meagerness  of  the  harvest,  the  burden  of  excessive  and  unjust 
taxation,  and  the  three-fold  curse  of  poverty  and  disease  and 
dirt.  He  inaugurated  no  movement  to  raise  men's  wages  or 
shorten  their  hours,  and  he  left  no  infallible  cure  for  human 
disease  and  suffering,  but  he  never  withheld  from  men  a  genu- 
ine sympathy  that  seemed  so  full  of  hope.  The  sisters  of  Laz- 
arus rejoiced  at  his  coming  even  when  they  looked  for  no  resur- 
rection of  their  brother.  His  presence  meant  good  to  them. 
His  sympathy  would  not  fail  them.  Of  this,  his  companion- 
ship and  his  help,  they  were  always  sure. 

But  these  were  not  the  best  of  the  blessings  that  Christ 
brought  to  men.  Ah,  poor  sufferer,  weighed  down  with  the 
i-ifirmities  of  years,  there  is  one  thing  you  need  more  th.an 
bodily  healing.  Ah,  friends,  who  have  borne  your  companion 
to  the  housetop,  and  let  him  down  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  it  is 
not  his  body  that  needs  first  aid!  The  restoring  he  needs  and 
shall  also  have,  and  the  words  of  the  Saviour  shall  not  fail  com- 
manding him  to  take  up  his  bed  and  walk,  but  the  greater 
blessing-  is  that  first  bestowed  of  pardoned  sins,  and  of  a  con- 
science at  peace  with  God! 

The  men  had  faith;  both  the  paralytic  and  the  four  who 
brought  him.  It  was  not  a  faith  that  the  man  would  be  for- 
given, but  faith  that  Jesus  would  do  something  to  help  him; 
faith  that  he  would  go  home  the  better  for  his  coming;  in  that 
they  were  not  disappointed.  It  was  a  fragmentary  faith;  an 
imperfect  faith  which  fell  far  short  of  reaching  the  full  willing- 
ness of  Christ  to  help.  It  was  a  faith  that  had  a  reward  in 
excess  ot  what  it  was  seeking.  It  is  often  so.  Not  wholly 
is  God  restricted  by  the  limitations  of  our  own  faith.  Faith  in 
Christ  is  not  confined  to  faith  that  he  is  about  to  do  a  specific 
thing  for  us.  There  is  a  power  in  him,  and  grace  with  him 
for  an  excessive  rew^ard  to  those  who  trust  him. 

Not  always  does  a  man  get  what  he  goes  out  after.  Men 
who  have  succeeded  in  that  which  they  have  most  desired, 
sometimes  tell  us  that  a  man  can  accomplish  anything  which 
he  really  sets  his  heart  upon;  but  life  is  full  of  examples  to  illus- 


150  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

trate  the  truth  that  some  things  most  earnestly  sought  are 
never  attained.  Many  a  man  struggles  on  with  his  bodily 
infirmity  and  the  limitations  of  his  environment,  to  wliom, 
nevertheless,  is  offered  the  larger  gift.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
assume  that  Jesus  will  always  say,  "Rise  up  and  walk,"  but  he 
will  always  say  to  the  penitent  believer.  "Thy  sins  are  for- 
given." Alany  a  Christian  carries  through  life,  as  Paul  did, 
a  body  weakened  by  incurable  disease. 

It  is  something  that  religion  makes  people  agreeable 
and  good  neighbors;  and  a  religion  which  does  this  and  noth- 
ing more,  is  not  to  be  despised.  If  Christianity  did  no  other 
thing  than  to  establish  a  day  in  the  week  on  which  by  com- 
mon consent  those  who  profess  it  should  put  on  clean  linen. 
it  would  be  sufficient  to  justify  the  Christian  faith;  but  no  man 
has  received  all  that  God  has  ready  for  him  who  has  only  come 
to  realize  the  benefits  of  an  occasional  change  of  raiment. 
Deeper  than  this  must  the  real  change  be,  if  God  does  his  best 
work  for  men.     Faith  in  Christ  still  has  its  excessive  reward. 

Later  in  the  summer  Jesus  found  and  rewarded  another 
instance  of  faith,  that  of  the  centurion,  whose  faith  he  declared 
greater  than  he  had  found  in  Israel. 

Thus  early  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus  did  he  give  to  the  world 
a  token  of  his  regard  for  all  nations,  and  a  promise  of  the 
extension  of  his  kingdom  among  all  men.  Returning  from 
the  mount  on  which  he  had  preached  his  great  sermon,  Jesus 
wa.*^  met  by  a  deputation  of  the  leading  men  of  Capernaum, 
beseeching  him  for  the  relief  of  this  centurion's  servant.  Jesus 
had  healed  Jews;  would  he  heal  a  Gentile?  Those  who  came 
to  Jesus  evidently  believed  that  their  faith  was  or  might  be 
necessary  to  make  up  for  the  lack  of  the  faith  of  the  centurion. 
They  took  pains  to  assure  Jesus  that  he  was  personally  worthy, 
but  the  very  need  of  the  explanation  as  they  made  it  showed 
that  there  was  a  doubt  in  their  minds  as  to  his  being  up  to  the 
standard  of  faith  as  required  by  Jesus.  But  as  Jesus  was  going, 
the  centurion  sent,  saying,  "Speak  the  word,  and  my  servant 
shall  be  healed." 

It  was  an  eminently  practical,  business-like,   soldierly  sug- 


THE     HEALING     CHRIST 


151 


gestion.  It  was  so  practical  that  it  must  have  shocked  those 
who  heard  it  a  little.  Jesus  marveled  at  the  centurion's  faith. 
He  had  not  always  when  present  l)een  able  to  do  mighty  works 
among  the  Jews  because  of  their  unbelief.  Here  was  a  heathen 
who  had  so  much  more  faith  that  he  could  bless  him  at  a  dis- 
tance.    It  was  greater  faith  than  he  had  ever  found  in  Israel. 


the  daughter  of  jairus 
—  (hofmann.    1824 — ) 

The  true  followers  of  Jesus  were  not  limited  to  those  who 
accompanied  him  in  his  journeyings.  There  must  have  been 
a  considerable  number  who  remained  at  home  and  quietly  bore 
their  testimony  for  him.  The  healed  demoniac  was  not  allowed 
to  follow  him,  but  was  sent  to  his  own  home  to  tell  what  great 
things  the  Lord  had  done  for  him.  Zacch^eus  in  Jericho.  Laz- 
arus in  Bethany,  and  many  more  into  whose  homes  he  had 


152  J1-:SUS    OF    NAZARETH 

come,  must  have  remained  loyal  to  him.  The  owner  of  the 
ass  on  which  he  rode  to  Jerusalem,  the  host  in  whose  upper 
room  they  ate  the  passover,  like  Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of 
Arimath?ea,  were  among  his  sincere  disciples.  Besides  these 
there  must  have  been  many  who  clung  to  their  old  forms  of 
worship,  for  as  yet  there  had  been  no  break  between  Christian- 
ity and  Judaism,  but  sincerely  believed  on  him,  and  a  nunil)cr 
not  smaller,  who  were  somewhat  perplexed  1)y  conflicting  opin- 
ions, and  bewildered  by  their  previous  expectations  of  the 
Messiah,  who  had,  nevertheless,  heard  him  gladly,  and  needed 
only  further  instruction  to  bring  them  to  Christ.  The  Church 
\isible  has  never  been  conterminous  with  the  Church  invisible. 
In  every  nation  he  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteou.^- 
ness,  however  perplexed  with  distracting  doubts,  or  confused 
by  erroneous  teaching,  has  been  and  is  accepted  with  him. 

This  centurion  laid  no  claim  to  faith.  He  was  not  a  Jew;  he 
had  Ticver  received  the  rite  of  circumcision;  he  did  not  keep 
the  ceremonial  law;  he  was  a  heathen.  He  had,  however,  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  favorable  attitude  toward  the  Jews. 
Stationed  with  his  company  of  troops  near  Capernaum,  he  had 
noted  the  favorable  contrast  between  Judaism  and  heathenism, 
and  while  not  professing  conversion  to  Judaism,  had  been  the 
largest  contributor  to,  if  not  the  sole  donor  of,  the  chief  syna- 
gogue of  the  place — a  structure  whose  ruins,  if  they  could  be 
identified  with  those  of  Tell  Hum,  would  show  that  the  gift 
was  by  no  means  a  small  one.  The  ruins  may  serve  the  same 
purpose,  however,  for  it  is  quite  unlikely  that  Capernaum's 
synagogue,  erected  by  such  a  patron,  was  at  all  inferior  to 
those  of  the  neighboring  towns. 

It  is  significant  that  of  centurions,  of  whom  the  Jews  could 
not  think  even  such  an  one  worthy  except  by  stress  of  need 
to  receive  a  blessing  from  the  Jewish  Messiah,  no  less  than 
three  are  conspicuous  for  their  connection  with  the  early 
Church — this  centurion  of  Capernaum,  the  centurion  of  the 
crucifixion,  and  Cornelius  of  Cxsarea.  And  Jesus  prophesied 
that  many  should  come  from  unexpected  quarters  to  sit  down 
with  the  Jewish  patriarchs  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 


THE     HEALING     CHRIST 


153 


Another  notable  work  was  wrought  by  Jesus  that  summer 
in  the  raising  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus,  the  ruler  of  the  syna- 
gogue (Matt.  9:  18-26;  Mark  5:  21-43;  L^^ke  8:  41-56).  On 
the  way  to  the  house  of  Jairus  he  healed  the  poor  woman  wdio 
touched  the  hem  of  his  garment.  Jesus  was  always  doing  good 
by  the  way,   and  amid   the  throng  and  press  of  that   day  he 


RCINS    OF    THE    SYNAGOGUE    AT    TELL    HU.M 

noticed  the  woman  who  found  healing  in  the  furtive  touch  of 
faith.  Passing  on,  Jesus  brought  joy  to  the  house  of  Jairus. 
I  never  recall  that  scene,  or  look  at  Hofmann's  picture  without 
emotion,  remembering  one  dark  day  when  by  accident  I 
opened  to  it  in  a  child's  book  of  Bible  stories  with  the  words 
underneath,  that  were  the  echo  of  my  own  heart's  cry,  "]\Iy 
little  daughter  is  at  the  point  of  death:  I  pray  thee,  that  thou 
come  and  lay  thy  hands  on  her,  that  she  may  be  made  wdiole, 
and  live."     It  was  an  unspeakable  comfort  to  remember  that 


154 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


he  came.  So,  also,  he  came  to  us  in  our  need,  and  still  comes 
to  many  an  anxious  bedside. 

At  the  same  time,  and  apparently  on  the  same  day,  Jesus 
healed  two  blind  men,  and  afterward  a  dumb  demoniac.  So 
full  and  busy  were  the  days  of  his  life  in  Capernaum. 

The  cures  brought  blessings  to  those  who  were  healed,  but 
they  failed  to  convince  the  doubters.  Those  who  could  not 
deny  the  miracles  ascribed  them  to  Satan  (Matt.  9:  34),  and 
the  rest  continued  demanding  signs  (Matt.  12:  38-45;  Luke 
11:  29-36).  The  supernatural  has  failed  as  a  means  of  conver- 
sion. The  showing  of  signs  led  to  the  growing  demand  for 
signs,  till  the  heart  of  Jesus  was  heavy;  for  men  sought  him  to 
be  caused  to  marvel,  and  not  to  hear  his  words  or  do  his  will. 
So  the  works  of  healing  were  not  an  unqualified  blessing,  and  it 
is  more  than  doubtful  whether  they  would  serve  better  ends 
to-day. 


'get  thee  behind   me.   sat.a.n!" 
(hofmann.    182^ — ) 


CHAPTER  XIII 

JESUS  AND  THE  SABBATH 

Jesus  attended  a  second  feast  at  Jerusalem,  as  John  tells  us 
(5:  i)  and  it  is  commonly  believed  to  have  been  a  passover. 
In  any  event  it  is  manifestly  distinct  from  the  passover  already 
referred  to  (John  2:  13).  This  feast  marks  the  close  of  the 
first  year's  ministry.  It  had  been  a  year  of  small  beginnings 
but  of  growing  power.  Jesus  had  now  been  in  retirement  for 
some  time,  and  was  greeted  with  interest  at  Jerusalem.  The 
most  notable  public  event  of  this  visit  was  the  work  of  healing 
at  the  Pool  of  Bethesda.  The  place  is  believed  by  many  to 
have  been  identified,  and  one  clambers  down  to  the  pool 
through  the  remains  of  three  churches,  that  have  been  built, 
one  over  the  ruins  of  the  other,  to  mark  the  spot. 

Here  Jesus  found  a  man  who  had  had  an  infirmity  thirty- 
eight  years.  There  was  a  superstition  that  the  pool  had  healing 
power  for  the  first  man  who  entered  it  after  the  occasional 
"troubling"  of  the  waters  by  an  angel.  The  myth  of  the  angel, 
which  worked  its  way  into  the  Bible  narrative,  has  now  been 
relegated  to  the  margin. 

This  incident  affords  us  one  of  our  best  illustrations  of  the 
occasional  inaccuracies  of  the  text  of  Scripture.  The  oldest 
manuscripts  omit  the  words,  "waiting  for  the  moving  of  the 
water"  and  the  story  of  the  angel  troubling  the  pool.  The 
spring  was  an  intermittent  one.  and  the  medicinal  value  of  the 
waters — if  they  had  such  value — may  have  been  greater  in  the 
beginning  of  its  periods  of  activity.  Whether  this  was  true, 
or  was  only  believed  to  be  true,  need  not  concern  us.  Some 
scribe  who  knew  the  local  superstition  that  this  "troubling"  of 
the  water  was  occasioned  by  the  visit  of  an  angel,  and  the 
popular  belief  that  only  the  first  man  who  entered  the  pool 


156 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


could  he  healed,  inserted  in  the  mari^in  of  his  copv  the  story 
as  it  is  found  in  the  version  of  King  James.  In  time  the  added 
words  found  their  way  into  the  text  itself;  but  the  oldest 
copies  show  us  that  they  do  not  belong  there.  Wg  have  to 
deal  with  the  impotent  man,  who,  doubtless  believing  this 
superstition,  was  there  and  had  been  there  for  a  long  time.  We 
are  not  concerned  with  the  legend  of  the  angel. 


WILT  THOU   BE   MADE   WHOLE? — (  C.    SCHONHERK,    182" — ) 


Jesus  asked  this  man.  "Wilt  thou  be  made  whole?"  It  was 
no  needless  question.  The  man  had  become  fond  of  his  infirm- 
ity. He  had  told  his  story  a  thousand  times  a  year  for  nearly 
forty  years,  and  it  had  grown  larger  and  more  delightfully  sad 
each  year.  What  a  series  of  disappointments  lie  could  relate, 
until  now.  if  by  any  chance  he  had  gotten  in  first,  and  l)een 
healed,  his  occupation  would  have  been  gone!  There  are  peo- 
ple, not  a  few,  who  need,  not  medicine,  but  faith  and  resolu- 
tion, a  forgetting  of  their  disappointments  and  infirmities,  and 
some  wholesome  exercise  in  makincr  beds. 


JESUS    AND    THE    SAL5HATil 


157 


But  the  healiiii^"  of  this  man.  while  it  added  to  the  popular 
fame  of  Christ,  brous^ht  about  a  clash  with  the  sticklers  for 
tlie  letter  of  the  Jewish  law  on  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 
Jesus  laid  down  the  fundamental  law,  "The  Sabbath  was  made 
for  man."  It  seems  to  us  a  commonplace,  but  it  was  a  strange 
doctrine  then.     Just  so  far  as  they  could,  the  Jews  had  made 


ff- 

M 

I, 

J^^^^,  ^^^^^^r   >^ 

f  '^^. 

-'Jt:3»    -  " 

r 

THE     MOVI.XG    OF    THE     WATERS — (JEAN     RF.STOUT.     1696-1/68) 


man  over  to  fit  the  Sabbath.  On  just  this  point  Jesus  came  into 
sharp  collision  w'ith  the  doctors  of  his  nation,  and  had.  in  con- 
sequence, a  series  of  discussions  with  them.  £2^rowing  out  of 
various  incidents  in  which  he  deliberately  set  at  naught  estab- 
lished custom  with  reference  to  the  Sabbath. 

It  will  be  well  for  us  to  consider  the  principal  occasions  on 
which  Jesus  was  criticised  for  disregarding  the  Sabbath.  We 
cannot  count  in  this  list  the  healing  of  the  demoniac  in  the 
synagogue  in  Capernaum  (Luke  4:  31-36),  for  this  occasioned 
no  recorded   criticism,   and  the   same  is  true  of  the   cure    of 


1^8  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

Simon's  mother-in-law  (Luke  -j :  37-39).  In  ])Oth  cases  the 
need  was  so  urgent  that  the  cures  were  unchallenged.  Pos- 
sibly, also,  there  were  no  scribes  present  in  Capernaum.  Nor 
yet  may  we  consider  the  other  cures  wrought  on  that  same 
day,  for  these  were  delayed  by  the  ])eo])le  themselves  until 
sunset  (Matt.  8:  16;  Mark  i:  32;  Luke  4:  40),  when  the  Sab- 
bath was  at  an  end. 

The  first  occasion  that  gave  rise  to  controversy  was  this 
healing  of  the  man  at  Bethesda  (John  5:  1-47).  The  next  was 
the  incident  of  rubbing  out  of  the  grain  (Matt.  12:  1-8).  The 
next  was  the  healing  of  the  man  with  the  withered  hand  (Matt. 
12:  9-14).  These  were  the  occasions  of  scandal  in  the  first  half 
of  Jesus'  ministry.  Later  occurred  the  healing  of  the  man  born 
blind,  which  cure  occurred  at  Jerusalem,  in  the  last  winter 
(John  9);  and  soon  afterward,  in  Per?ea,  the  healing  of  the 
infirm  woman  in  the  synagogue  (Luke  13:  10-12)  and  that  of 
the  man  with  the  dropsy,  in  the  house  of  a  Pharisee  (Luke 

14:  1-5)- 

We  must  not  fail  to  notice  that  all  of  these    controversies 

might  have  been  avoided.  The  cures  could  have  been  post- 
poned until  the  next  day;  or  Jesus  might  have  taken  the 
patients  aside,  as  in  other  cases,  and  healed  them  privately.  In 
the  case  of  the  rubbing  of  grain  by  the  disciples,  Jesus  might 
have  cautioned  them  to  take  bread,  or  to  restrain  their  hunger 
lest  they  cause  others  to  stumble.  The  offense  was  needless; 
Jesus  deliberately  courted  opposition  on  this  point. 

We  must  note  also  his  defense.  The  Jews  supposed  that  he 
assumed  the  right  to  abrogate  the  Sabbath  through  a  claim  of 
equality  w'ith  God.  But  Jesus  denied  this  as  the  ground  of  his 
conduct.  He  could  do  nothing  apart  from  God.  "The  Son  can 
do  nothing  of  himself,  but  what  he  seeth  the  Father  doing." 
Whatever  claims  he  makes  for  his  divinity,  he  make?  this  one 
as  the  representative  of  men,  for  whom  the  Sabbath  was  made. 

Jesus  declared  himself  Lord  of  the  Sabbath,  by  right  of  his 
manhood  and  not  alone  of  his  divinity,  which  up  to  this  time 
he  did  not  permit  to  l)e  known.  "I  say  unto  you  that  a  greater 
thing  than  the  temple  is  here." 


JESUS    AND    THE    SABBATH  159 

He  defended  himself  by  an  appeal  to  an  instance  of  mere 
human  need.  At  a  time  in  David's  career,  least  reputable,  a 
time  when  he  was  telling  lies  and  becoming  the  companion  of 
outlaws,  his  need  justified  the  priest  in  breaking  over  a  cere- 
monial law  for  the  sake  of  a  hungry  man.  insincere  though  he 
was.  "How  much  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep;"  therefore.  "It 
is  lawful  to  do  good  on  the  Sabbath  day."  "I  desire  mercy, 
and  not  sacrifice." 

We  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  Jesus  esteemed  highly  the 
Jewish  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship.  Yet  from  the 
beginning  of  his  ministry  he  deliberately  and  with  purpose 
aforethought  went  out  of  his  way  to  engender  controversy  as 
to  the  method  of  its  observance.  The  immediate  gain  of  his 
departures  from  established  customs  was  insignificant,  and  the 
loss  was  great,  so  great  that  it  involved  bitter  and  acrimonious 
debates,  alienation  of  disciples,  and  a  hostility  on  the  part  of 
the  priests  that  at  length  proved  the  occasion  of  his  death. 

The  principle  of  Jesus,  as  gathered  from  his  own  words,  is 
that  religion  is  adapted  to  the  nature  of  man,  and  is  to  be 
interpreted  in  the  light  of  man's  need.  This  principle,  far  from 
doing  away  with  the  Sabbath,  grounds  it  in  the  eternal  purpose 
of  God  to  promote  the  welfare  of  men,  and  makes  the  Sabbath 
an  abiding  necessity.  The  principle  on  which  the  Jews  ba^ed 
the  Sabbath  would  in  time  make  it  superfluous.  To  set  forth 
the  real  nature  of  the  Sabbath  was  consonant  with  the  whole 
plan  of  Christ's  work;  and  in  it  we  may  see  in  epitome  the 
spirit  of  his  whole  mission. 

Thus  interpreted,  the  Sabbath,  and  every  institution  of  God 
on  earth,  becomes  not  an  arbitrary  requirement,  but  a  divine 
benefaction;  not  the  imposition  of  a  grievous  obligation,  but 
the  conferring  of  a  priceless  boon;  not  the  result  of  a  divine 
mandate  for  which  no  reason  is  to  be  asked  or  given,  but  an 
evidence  of  the  reasonableness  of  God's  gracious  command- 
ment, ordained  for  the  physical  and  mental  and  spiritual  v;el- 
fare  of  his  children.  To  ground  religion  upon  that  basis  was 
worth  the  cost  of  opposition.  The  work  of  Christ,  so  far  as 
it  related  to  organic  religion  and  to  religious  institutions,  was 


i6o 


JKSUS    OF    NAZARETH 


a  most  instructixc  and  persuasive  commentary  upon  the  words 
of  Moses:  "For  tiiis  commandment  which  I  command  thee 
this  day,  it  is  not  too  hard  for  thee,  neither  is  it  far  olY.  It  is 
not  in  heaven,  that  thou  should  say,  Who  shall  go  up  for  us 
to  heaven,  and  bring  it  unto  us,  and  make  us  to  hear  it.  that 
we  may  do  it?   \eitlier  is  it  beyond  the  sea,  that  thou  shouldest 


THE    POOL    OF    BETHESDA 


say,  Who  shall  go  over  the  sea  for  us,  and  bring  it  unto  us, 
and  make  us  to  hear  it  that  we  may  do  it?  But  the  word  is 
very  nigh  unto  thee,  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart,  that  thou 
mayest  do  it."     (Deut.  30:  11-14.) 

God  has  not  made  an  arbitrary  standard  to  which  human 
life  is  required  to  conform;  he  has  been  governed  in  the  crea- 
tion of  that  standard  by  the  nature  of  human  life,  which  is 
a  reflection  of  his  own  nature.     The  law  of  the  Sabbath,  then. 


JKSUS    AND    THE    SABBATH 


i6i 


is  to  be  interpreted   in  the  light   of  the  physieal,   soeial,   and 
spiritual  needs  of  men. 

The  world  never  needed  a  day  of  rest  more  than  in  this 
busy,  rushing  age,  in  which  men  are  breaking  down  from  ex- 
cess of  care  and  prolonged  effort.     It  never  needed  a  day  of 


THE    DISCIPLES    RUP.EIXG    OUT    THE    GRAIN — CdORE.     1832-1883) 

spiritual  uplift  more  than  in  the  midst  of  our  present  commer- 
cialism and  haste  to  be  rich.  A  day  of  mere  recreation  is  not 
enough.  It  sends  the  wearied  man  back  to  work  more  weary, 
as  employers  of  labor  testify.  The  world  needs  rest  and  uplift 
and  spiritual  impulse,  and  should  find  it  in  the  Sabbath,  which 
was  made  for  man.  If  we  are  wise  and  seek  the  best  interests 
of  men,  we  shall  not  seek  in  the  name  of  an  imaginary  "free- 


1 62 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


dom"  or  protest  against  so-called  "Blue-Laws"  to  break  down 
the  too  few  restraints  upon  the  weekly  day  of  rest.  Rather  we 
shall  seek,  without  limitation  of  personal  liberty,  save  as  it 
hinders  the  liberty  of  others,  a  growing  reverence  and  love  for 
the  Lord's  day. 

Greek  mythology  had  among  its  heroes  Antaeus,  a  gigantic 
wrestler.  Born  of  the  earth,  he  renewed  his  strength  whenever 
he  touched  it,  and  was  only  conquered  by  Hercules  when  the 
latter  lifted  him  into  the  air  and  there  squeezed  him  to  death. 
There  is  truth  in  the  legend,  as  seen  in  the  fact  that  our  bodies 
are  renewed  by  contact  with  the  soil.  But  our  souls  are 
heaven-born,  and  renew  themselves  only  by  touching  heaven. 
Our  danger  is  that  the  great  god  Mammon,  finding  us  with 
strength  of  soul  depleted,  will  squeeze  out  our  spiritual  life  in 
the  pressure  and  grind  of  common  things.  Once  a  week — and 
it  is  not  too  often — let  us  rise  to  touch  heaven. 


W 


^-\V>*- 


I'M'i^. 


■,«^      '  *  »«? 


llf'^'U 


-3^ 


r* 


JERUSALEM     FROM    THE    WALL 


CHAPTER  XIV 


BESIDE  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE 

The  last  two  chapters,  in  their  grouping  of  similar  incidents, 
have  anticipated  the  orderly  chronological  progress  of  the  nar- 
rative. We  return  to  Galilee  and  find  Jesus  in  a  new  home. 
He  has  now  established  himself  in  Capernaum  by  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  which  from  this  time  becomes  the  central  spot  in  his 
ministry. 

Jesus  first  visited  Capernaum  (John  2:  12)  in  March,  or 
April,  A.  D.  27.  It  was  a  brief  visit,  and  he  was  accompanied 
by  his  mother,  the  family,  and  the  first  five  disciples.  In  April, 
28,  when  Jesus  had  been  rejected  at  Nazareth  he  removed  to 
Capernaum  and  made  this  place  his  headquarters  until  his  final 
withdrawal  from  Galilee  in  the  autumn  of  29.  (]\Iatt.  19:  i,  2; 
Mark  10:  i ;  Luke  9:  51.)  In  this  interval  of  a  year  and  a  half 
Jesus  seems  to  have  made  at  least  nine  departures  from  and 
returns  to  Capernaum.  Three  of  them  were  extensive  tours 
and  the  others  were  more  limited  visits  to  near-by  towns. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  New  Testament  to  indicate  the  site 
of  Capernaum  beyond  the  fact  that  it  was  on  the  shore  of  the 
Sea  of  Galilee  and  across  from  Decapolis,  being  on  or  near  the 
plain  of  Gennesaret  (Matt.  4:  13;  14:  34;  John  6:  17-21; 
Mark  6:  53).  It  is  twice  mentioned  by  Jose]:)hus  (Vita,  72. 
B.  J.  H,  X.  8),  who,  when  injured  upon  the  Jordan,  was  car- 
ried thither,  and  his  testimony  adds  the  fact  that  there  was  a 
fountain  there. 

Capernaum  derives  its  interest  solely  from  its  relation  to 
Jesus.  After  his  rejection  in  Nazareth  he  made  his  home  in 
Capernaum,  first  as  the  guest  of  Peter,  whose  mother-in-law 
he  healed  (Mark  i:  31),  and  later  apparently  as  the  proprietor 
of  a  house  probably  rented  for  himself  and   disciples,   as  we 

163 


164 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


are  told  that  he  was  "at  home"  (Mark  2:  1).  Here  he  paid 
taxes  (Matt.  17:  24-27).  and  it  was  called  "his  own  city" 
(Matt.  9:  i). 

Capernaum  was  a  "city"  of  scMiie  importance,  the  center  of 
a  collecting  district,  and  the  permanent  station  of  a  body  of 
troops  whose  captain  had  built  the  synagogue  (Matt.  8:  5, 
etc.).  Here  Jesus  taught  in  the  synagogue  (John  6:  59).  and 
wrought    many  miracles.     Here    he  taught    his  disciples    the 


the  beach  of  bethsaida 
('ain  ET  tabigha) 


lesson  of  humility  from  a  little  child  who  ran  in  at  the  door 
when  it  was  known  Jesus  was  "at  home"  (Matt.  18:  2;  Mark 

9:  33.  36). 

To  this  city,  the  home  of  Peter  and  of  Andrew,  whose  native 
city  was  Bethsaida,  but  who  had  come  to  live  in  Capernaum 
(Mark  i:  29;  John  i:  44),  the  disciples  to  the  number  of  seven 
gathered  after  the  resurrection  and  remained  till  Jesus 
appeared  to  them  by  the  sea  in  the  morning  (John  21).     Very 


BESIDE    THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE 


l6S 


few  places  are  so  intimately  associated  with  the  most  interest- 
ing incidents  of  gospel  history. 

Two  sites  are  pointed  out  on   the  Sea  of  Galilee  as  those 
which  may  be  what  little  is  left  of  Capernaum.     One  of  these 


MAP  OF  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE— (CY  GENERAL   HENRY  B.    CARRINGTON,   U.    S.    ARMY) 

is  Tell  Hum,  at  the  northern  end  of  the  lake,  and  the  other 
is  Khan  Minyeh,  about  three  miles  to  the  west,  near  its  north- 
western extremity.  Readers  interested  in  the  arguments  pr  ) 
and  con  can  find  them  in  extended  works  on  this  subject.  It 
will  answer  the  purpose  of  the  present   volume  to  give  the 


i66 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


author's  conviction  that  Khan  Alinyeh  rather  than  Tell  Hum 
answers  the  general  requirements  of  the  Biblical  narrative. 
It  is  a  place  of  springs,  which  arc  distinctly  mentioned  bv 
Josephus,  and  these  are  lacking-  at  Tell  Hum.  The  ruins  at 
Tell  Hum,  however,  are  more  extensive  than  at  Khan  Minyeh, 
and  the  fact  that  among  them  arc  the  remains  of  a  synagogue 
leads  one  strongly  to  desire  to  identify  it  as  the  one  in  which 


the  shoke  of  capernaum 
(khan  minyeh) 


Jesus  taught.  In  any  event  it  is  practically  certain  that  he 
l)reached  in  this  synagogue,  as  the  villages  at  the  northern  end 
of  the  lake  received  his  special  attention.  Tell  Hum  has  been 
thought  by  some  to  be  Bethsaida  or  possibly  Chorazin,  but 
Chorazin  is  probably  identical  with  a  ruin  north  of  Tell  Hum. 
Chorazin  is  referred  to  only  in  Matt,  ii:  21;  Luke  10:  13,  and 
is  located  west  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  and  of  the  Jordan.  Jerome 
locates  it  two  miles  from  Capernaum,  but  says  it  was  deserted 
in    his  day.     It  was    praised    in    ancient    days  for  its  wheat. 


BESIDE    THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE 


167 


Thomson,  in  1857,  identified  it  at  the  ruin  called  Kerazeh, 
which  is  generally  received  as  correct,  but  the  identification, 
while  probable,  is  uncertain.  This  site  is  off  the  lake,  and 
nearly  north  of  Tell  Hum.  We  do  not  know  what  incidents 
occurred  there,  but  the  place  is  referred  to  by  Jesus  as  one 
of  the  three  that  had  had  the  largest  opportunity  to  see  and 
know  him.  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  the  cities  which  Jesus 
denounced  for  their  unbelief    have  all    disappeared,  past    the 


THE  DRAUGHT  OF  FISHES — (  CR.WER.    I582-1669) 


possibility  of  certain  indentification.  If  Capernaum  was  at  Khan 
Minyeh,  Bethsaida  was  probably  located  at  'Ain  et  Tabigha 
(Heptaregon) — a  little  vale,  bordering  a  beautiful  curve  in  the 
beach  east  of  the  rocky  promontory  of  Tell  'Ariemeh — the 
monkish  "Mensa  Christi".  There  was  also  another  Bethsaida. 
on  the  other  side  of  the  lake,  where  the  five  thousand  were  fed. 
We  shall  have  occasion,  in  considering  that  miracle,  to  men- 
tion this  Bethsaida  and  the  question  of  its  site  or  sites. 

There  is  only  one  other  city  on  the  Galilee  side  of  the  lake 
that  has  interest  for  us  in  connection  with  the  work  of  Jesus, 


l68  JKSUS    OF    NAZARETH 

and  we  have  no  specific  mention  of  his  visiting  there.  Alagdala. 
identical  with  the  modem  El-Medjel,  is  identified  beyond 
reasonable  doubt,  and  lies  south  of  all  the  above  villages.  It 
is  now  a  poor  and  miserable  town,  situated  in  a  fertile  region, 
well  watered  but  very  poorly  cultivated.  It  is  a  striking  fact 
that  it  alone  of  the  cities  associated  with  Christ's  ministry 
here,  should  be  certainly  identified.  It  brings  to  our  memorv 
the  fidelity  of  the  woman  who.  healed  by  Jesus  from  her 
insanity,  was  faithful  to  him  to  the  end;  ''last  at  the  cross  and 
earliest  at  the  grave." 

The  city  of  Tiberias,  which  lies  farther  south  on  the  same 
side  of  the  lake,  was  begun  in  Christ's  youth,  and  completed 
during  the  early  part  of  his  ministry,  but  we  have  no  record 
that  he  ever  visited  it.  It  is  to-day  the  principal  city  on  the 
lake,  and  the  point  of  departure  for  excursions  upon  its  waters. 

It  is  of  little  consequence  that  we  are  unable  to  identify 
the  sites  of  the  cities  that  adorned  the  Sea  of  Galilee  in  Christ's 
day.  One  of  them  does  as  well  as  another  for  the  purpose  of 
illustration  or  as  a  point  of  departure.  It  is  the  lake  itself  that 
chiefly  holds  our  interest.  Xo  tourist  who  has  ever  made  the 
journey  will  recall  without  a  thrill  of  satisfaction  the  experience 
of  a  sail  upon  this  deep,  blue  body  of  water  so  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  the  most  striking  scenes  of  our  Lord's  ministry. 

The  event  which  brought  Jesus  back  from  Judrea  into  Gali- 
lee was  the  imprisonment  of  John  the  Baptist,  for  the  sake 
of  w'hose  disciples  Jesus  had  once  before  withdrawn  from  the 
neighborhood  of  Jerusalem  (John  4:  i.  2;  ]\Iatt.  4:  12;  Mark 
i:  14;  Luke  4:  14,  15).  Returning  first  to  his  own  home. 
Nazareth,  and  finding  no  welcome  there,  he  had  come  to  Caper- 
naum, where,  on  the  first  Sabbath,  he  taught  in  the  synagogue, 
healed  the  mother-in-law  of  Peter,  and  wTought  many  cures 
(Matt.  8:  14-17;  ^lark  i:  21-34;  Luke  4:  31-41). 

Then  came  a  memorable  day  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Peter 
had  been  fishing  all  night,  and  with  poor  success,  but  tired 
as  he  w-as  he  \vould  not  go  home.'''     His  nets  needed  washing, 


*I   quote   a   few  paragraphs   from   my  book   "I    Go   A   Fishing." 


BESIDE    THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE 


169 


and  a  crowd  was  gathering  on  the  beach.  Peter  had  been, 
since  the  Sabbath,  a  noted  man  in  the  village,  for  he  was 
entertaining  the  new  Rabbi.  Peter  for  more  than  a  year  had 
been  an  avowed  disciple  of  Jesus. 

Soon  the  crowd  parted,  and    Jesus  passed    through  to  the 
water's  edge.     The  people  pressed  upon  him  so  that  he  could 


ANCIENT   AgUEDUCT   ABOVE   KHAN    MINVEH 


not  see  over  their  heads,  and  he  looked  about  for  a  pulpit. 
There  were  boats  at  hand,  and  he  knew  Peter's  from  the  rest. 
and,  stepping  into  it,  asked  Peter  to  push  out  a  few  yards,  and 
hold  the  boat  where  he  could  make  himself  heard. 

We  have  no  record  of  the  sermon  or  its  results.  The  Master 
uttered  his  message,  and  the  seed  fell,  some  by  the  wayside, 
some  on    the  rock,  some    in  the  thorns  and    some    on  good 


170  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

ground.      It  is  a  mistake  to  expect  a  pentecost   after  every 
sermon,  or  even  that  every  sermon  shall  be  remembered. 

The  sermon  was  finished,  and  Peter  took  Jesus  for  a  sail. 
and  the  Master  showed  Peter  where  to  fich  with  f;ood  success. 
The  net  came  up  full  and  overloaded.  It  was  a  large  recom- 
pense for  the  use  of  Peter's  boat,  but  Peter  found  in  the 
miraculous  draught  of  fishes  other  suggestions.  In  some  wa- 
that  miracle  was  a  call  to  a  new  and  more  intimate  discipleship. 

It  was  their  divinely  given  success  that  brought  those  first 
avowed  disciples  to  a  point  where  they  were  ready  to  leave  all 
with  him.  They  left  the  fishing  business  with  a  record  of 
success,  and  not  because  business  had  failed.  Harry  More- 
house, the  English  evangelist  who  so  quickened  Moody,  used 
to  sav  of  this  miracle,  "It  takes  faith  to  leave  fish."  Such 
faith  as  was  requisite  the  disciples  did  not  lack. 

Four  disciples  were  present  when  Jesus  uttered  this  second 
call  to  service.  John  was  one  of  these,  as  he  had  been  one 
of  the  first,  and  with  him  now  is  his  1)rotlicr  James.  Andrew 
and  Peter  are  there,  also.  The  group  has  not  grown  smaller. 
Nathaniel  and  Philip  may  have  been  at  Cana  for  a  time,  as 
they  seem  to  have  had  interests  both  there  and  at  Bethsaida. 
At  any  rate  they  have  not  dropped  out  of  the  circle.  The 
number  has  not  diminished  to  four;  it  has  grown  to  six.  This 
half  dozen,  all  fishermen,  now  leave  their  work  and  accompany 
Jesus  on  his  first  preaching  tour  through  Galilee. 

The  tour  was  not  a  long  one.  It  extended  into  "the  next 
towns,"  which  were  probably  Bethsaida,  Chorazin.  and  the 
other  lake  villages.  He  healed  a  leper  in  one  of  these  places, 
and  cast  out  demons,  "And  Simon  and  they  that  were  with 
him  followed  after  him." 

It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  they  never  fished  again.  They 
were  soon  back  in  Capernaum,  in  which  town  Jesus  seems  to 
have  made  nine  different  sojourns  between  his  missionary 
tours.  On  these  he  was  accompanied  by  his  band  of  disciples, 
who,  during  the  earlier  portion  of  his  ministry,  may  have 
resumed,  when  at  home,  their  former  occupation.  But  there 
was  a  distinct  advance  in  their  conception  of  discipleship.     To 


BESIDE    THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE 


171 


follow  Jesus  now  meant  far  more  than  it  had  done  fourteen 
months  before.  They  were  still  fishermen,  but  they  were 
called  to  be  with  their  Lord,  and  to  that  call  they  had  responded 
gladly,  nobly. 

After  his  first  tour  of  Galilee,  Jesus  returned  to  Capernaum, 
and  there,  in  early  summer,  he  healed  the  paralytic,  and  was 
charged  with  blasphemy  for  claiming  power  to  forgive  sins 
(Matt.  9:  2-8;  Mark  2:  3-12;  Luke  5:  18-26).  He  had  another 
controversy,   also,    occasioned    by  his  disciples    rubbing    out 


TELL    HUM 


grain  on  the  Sabbath,  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made. 

At  this  time,  too,  Jesus  added  another  to  the  number  of 
his  disciples,  Matthew,  or  Levi,  the  tax-collector  (Matt.  9:  9; 
Mark  2:  14;  Luke  5:  27-28),  whom  he  called  from  his  place  of 
business,  and  who  followed  him. 

The  spring  passed  by,  and  the  summer  came  on.  Jesus 
sometimes  left  the  hot  homes  of  men,  and  taught  by  the  sea- 
side (Mark  2:  13),  and  sometimes  he  preached  from  a  boat,  and 
afterward  went  for  a  sail. 


1/2 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


I  do  not  wonder  that  Jesus  loved  the  bine  lake  of  Galilee, 
"the  most  sacred  sheet  of  water  which  the  earth  contains." 
The  rabbis  declared  that  of  the  seven  seas  created  by  Jehovah. 
this  was  his  delight.  Josephus  grew  rapturous  over  it,  saying 
that  it  might  be  called  "the  ambition  of  nature,"  and  that  "the 


THE    CALL    OF    MATTHEW — (  BIDA,     1813-1895) 


seasons  seemed  to  vie  for  its  possession."  But  to  its  natural 
beauty  is  added  this  unspeakable  charm,  that  its  shores  have 
been  trod  and  its  waters  sailed  by  Jesus,  the  Christ.  The 
pilgrim  from  the  new  world  recalls  its  every  memory  with  a 
thrill  of  delight,  and  sings  in  his  heart, 

O  Galilee,   sweet   Galilee,  where  Jesns  loved   so  much  to  be! 
O   Galilee,  blue   Galilee,  come  sing  thy  song  again  to   me! 


BESIDE    THE    SEA    UE    GAEILEE 


173 


I  shall  never  live  to  be  old  enough  to  forget  my  own  sail 
on  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  The  day  was  bright  with  sunshine.  The 
waters  rippled  into  song  about  the  boat.  The  shores  were 
brilliant  with  flowers.  The  whole  scene  was  one  of  beauty. 
The  southern  end  of  the  lake,  shut  in  bv  hills,  was  calm,  and 


THE   CALLING   OF    ^rATTHE\V 
(CHEMENTO    OF    EMI'OLI,     1554-1640) 

our  progress  was  made  by  "toiling  in  rowing";  but  at  the 
northern  end  there  sprang  up  a  brisk  breeze  which  caused  us 
to  speed  rapidly  on  our  course  with  all  on  board  sitting  to 
windward  on  the  gunwale.  Other  boats  filled  with  members 
of  our  party  were  near  at  hand  and  sailing  over  the  same 
course,  and  competition  between  the  boatmen  was  keen  for  the 


174 


JESUS    OF    \AZARETH 


first  arrival.  The  race  added  its  own  zest  to  the  occasion. 
There  was  no  nieniory  of  fatigue  from  the  Umg"  ride  over  the 
(lalihxan  hills;  all  sense  of  weariness  vanished.  The  spray 
dashed  over  our  bow^  and  the  boatmen  sani^"  merrily  as  we 
passed  one  after  another  of  om-  competitors.  Hut  the  race 
was  not  the  only  thing  that  thrilled  us,  for  again  and  again 
we  remembered  how  the  disciples  had  sailed  that  same  little 


FISHERMAN    WASHING    HIS    NET 


sea,  and  our  Lord  himself  had  been  wMth  them  repeatedly  as 
they  loosed  from  this  same  shore  and  launched  out  across  its 
blue  w-aters.  In  his  day  the  lake  was  alive  with  boats.  The 
highways  on  the  shore  were  thronged  with  caravans.  The 
fertile  hillsides  clothed  with  wheat  and  barley  sloped  down  to 
the  water,  and  the  valleys  crimson  wath  flowers  were  beautiful 
in  the  sunshine.     In  all  Palestine  there  is  no  other  spot  so 


BESIDE    THE    SEA    OE    GALILEE 


175 


sacred,  so  free  from  mercenary  or  superstitious  associations, 
so  unspoiled  by  modern  innovations;  nor  is  there  in  all  the 
world  another  place  where  the  imagination  is  so  free  to  make 
real  to  itself  the  scenes  in  the  life  of  Christ. 

The  Sea  of  Galilee  is  627  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean. The  hills  around  it  rise  to  a  heis^ht  of  1,200  to  2,000 
feet.  The  greatest  depth  of  the  water  is  156  feet.  The  ex- 
treme length  of  the  lake  is  twelve  and  one-fourth  miles,  and 
its  greatest  width  six  and  three-fourths.  Fish  still  abound  in 
it  and  are  good  to  eat.  They  furnished  us  an  excellent  supper, 
and  along  the  shores  the  fishermen  were  washing  their  nets 
as  in  the  days  of  Jesus.  I  caught  a  photograph  of  one  of  these 
fishermen  as  we  sailed  by;  it  is  not  very  distinct,  but  it  is 
worth  reproducing  because  thoroughly  characteristic. 

Amid  scenes  such  as  this  we  spent  a  memorable  day,  and 
when  we  tied  our  tent  flaps  down  at  night  and  went  to  sleep 
beside  the  lake  which  Jesus  loved,  it  was  with  a  new  sense 
of  the  reality  of  the  life  and  labor  of  the  Son  of  man,  who  trod 
these  shores  and  sailed  this  sea  and  there  wrought  his  lasting 
work  on  the  lives  of  his  disciples  and  the  world. 


i 
[ 

,    .^.^:^^M.,XSX)IMlii 

^ 

^9i$^^^J" 

^^ 

J^f-^^^^^ 

CHAPTER  XV 


THE  ORDIXATIOX  OF  THE  TWELVE 

One  night  in  midsummer,  A.  D.  28,  Jesus  withdrew  from 
his  disciples  and  remained  alone  on  a  mountain  near  the  Sea 
of  Galilee  (Luke  6:  12).  It  was  one  of  his  many  nights  alone 
in  prayer.  In  the  morning  he  came  down  to  the  seaside,  and 
again  preached  from  Peter's  boat.  The  multitude  now  throng- 
ing him  was  great,  and  the  best  way  to  secure  a  little  space, 
that  more  might  hear,  was  by  putting  a  narrow  stretch  of  water 
between  him  and  his  audience. 

After  a  time  he  came  ashore,  and  climl)ed  the  mountain 
again,  and  took  with  him  twelve  men,  whom  from  this  time 
he  called  his  apostles.  Six  of  them  are  already  known  to  us; 
Alatthew  has  lately  joined  the  group,  and  the  other  five  have 
been  his  disciples  from  the  beginning.  They  are  Peter  and 
Andrew,  Philip  and  Nathansel  or  Bartholomew,  and  John. 
Tames,  the  brother  of  John,  had  also  come  into  the  group,  and 
there  was  another  James,  the  son  of  Alph^eus.  The  other  four 
are  Thomas,  "the  twin."  and  Simon,  the  revolutionist,  and 
Judas,  also  called  Lebbaius,  and  Thadd:eus,  and  Judas  the 
traitor. 

There  were  three  pairs  of  brothers  among  the  apostles. 
Several  of  them  had  been  associated  as  relatives  or  as  partners 
in  business.  All  were  from  Galilee.  It  was  a  small,  and  not 
very  inclusive  group,  yet  it  was  more  representative  than  we 
mie'ht  suppose,  and  quite  as  heterogeneous  as  was  consistent 
with  harmony. 

There  is  a  book  in  the  New  Testament  called  popularly  "The 
Acts  of  the  Apostles."  The  title  is  noteworthy,  because  the 
acts  of  so  few  of  the  apostles  are  recorded.  For  the  most  part 
we  do  not  know  by  what  specific  deeds  the  most  of  these  men 

176 


THE    ORDINATION    OF    THE    TWELVE 


177 


approved  themselves  as  apostles  of  the  Lord.  It  is  enough 
to  know  that  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his.  Not  even 
the  apostles  can  be  sure  of  widely  advertised  achievements  as 
the  token  of  sure  discipleship,  but  the  humblest  disciple  mav 
rejoice  in  opportunities  of  service  such  as  made  up  the  obscure 
and  worthy  labor  of  a  majority  of  the  apostles. 


FISHERMEN'    ON    THE    SHORE    .VEAR    WHERE    THE    DISCin.ES    WERE    tALI-ED 


Matthew  was  a  tax-collector,  and  Simon  Zelotes  was  a  tax- 
hater  and  an  insurrectionist,  and  some  of  the  rest  we  do  not 
know  about.*  But  more  than  half  of  them  were  fishermen, 
and  it  was  this  occupation  which  supplied  the  figure  of  speech 
which  to  this  day  describes  tlieir  official  work.  They  were 
fishers  of  men.  They  were  disciples  already,  but  the  time  had 
come  for  them  to  assume  a  still  more  intimate  relationship  to 
Jesus. 

*See  'T  Go  A  Fishin.c." 


1-8 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


"Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world,"  he  said;  "Ye  are  th( 
salt  of  the  earth."  These  were  strange  words  for  him  to  sav 
to  a  company  of  fishermen,  even  with  the  world  as  small  as 
it  then  was,  but  he  spoke  truly.  For  the  Galilxan  fishermen 
had  been  chosen  apostles,  and  were  now  set  apart  to  preach  the 
good  tidings  to  all  the  earth. 

This  was  the  end  of  their  fishing  for  fish.  Peter,  to  be  sure, 
once  cast  a  line  in  an  emergency,  and  caught  a  fish,  and  thus 


CHRIST    AND    THE    FISHERMEN — (ZIMMERMANN,     1852 — ) 


made  his  former  vocation  supply  his  Lord's  need  and  his  own. 
But  to  all  intents  and  purposes  the  second  preaching  of  Jesus 
from  the  boat  was  the  closing  of  the  fishing  industry  for  the 
men  whose  boat  it  was.  For  perhaps  two  months  they  had 
been  attending  him  almost  constantly;  now,  they  were 
formally  set  apart  for  life-long  service,  and  for  nearly  two  years 
thev  remained  with  him.  It  is  not  our  present  purpose  to 
follow  them    in  the  experiences  of    those    two  years.      Tt    is 


THE    ORDINATION    OF    THE    TWELVE 


179 


enough  for  us  to  know  that  they  followed  Jesus.  Sometimes 
there  were  crowds  to  hear  him,  and  sometimes  he  was  deserted, 
but  they  followed  him.  Sometimes  they  thought  that  they 
saw  his  throne  ahead,  and  later  they  knew  that  they  saw  his 
cross,  but  they  followed  him.  They  were  ignorant  and  narrow 
and  ambitious,  but  they  were  faithful.  "Let  us  go  with  him 
that  we  may  die  with  him,"  said  Thomas,  whom  we  cruelly 
remember  as  the  doubter.  They  all  followed  him — afar  of?, 
sometimes — but  there  are  few  more  beautiful  things  in  history 


JESUS    TREACHIXG    FROM    1'ETER's    BOAT — (H0EM.\NN.    iSJ4 — ) 


than  the  devotion  of  that  little  band  that  saw  the  multitude 
dwindle,  and  heard  the  cheers  change  to  hoarse  cries  for  blood, 
and  listened  to  the  taunts  of  the  Pharisees,  and  saw  the 
machinations  of  the  priests  increasing  to  succes,  but  still  fol- 
lowed him. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  reproducing  here  one  of  my  own  snap- 
shot photographs,  taken  on  the  wharf  of  Tell  Hijm,  with  my 
own  boat  and  boatmen  rather  dimly  shown.  The  photograph 
is  none  too  clear;  but  very  distinct  in  my  own  memory  is  the 
impression   made  upon  me   during  the  sail,   that   it   was  just 


i8o 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


such  Sturdy,  warm-hearted,  but  untaught  men  whom  >>.*'as 
called,  -and  whose  story,  imparted  by  himself,  has  transformed 
the  world.  No  single  impression  of  my  journey  in  Palestine 
stands  out  more  clear-cut  in  my  memory  than  that  suggested 
bv  the  men  in  this  dim  jihotograph.  It  was  not  men  like  these 
that  changed  the  course  of  history,  but  the  Lord  whom  they 
followed  and  who  transformed  them. 


MODERN  GALIiEAN  FISHERMEN. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT 

Much  of  Bible  history  gathers  itself  about  its  mountains. 
The  Hebrew  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  the  hills,  and  rejoiced  in  the 
presence  of  God  which  he  found  symbolized  in  the  mountains 
round  about  Jerusalem.  The  hills  of  the  Holy  Land  are  full 
of  pleasant  suggestions.  When  landing  at  Haifa,  one  sees 
above  him  the  rugged  ridge  of  Carmel,  and  soon  before  him  the 
rounded  cone  of  Tabor.  There  is  Lebanon  to  the  north,  with 
Hermon  just  over  the  Mizpeh  valley.  David  saw  the  storm 
sweep  over  Lebanon,  breaking  its  cedars,  and  heard  in  its 
thunders  the  voice  of  God.  John  saw  the  snowy  summit  of 
Hermon  with  the  clouds  and  sunlight  playing  over  it,  and  it 
became  to  him  suggestive  of  the  great  white  throne,  with  the 
rainbow  round  about  the  throne  of  God.  As  Hermon  and 
Lebanon  range  themselves  over  against  each  other,  so  in 
reality  and  in  association  do  Ebal  and  Gerizim,  where  the  law 
was  read  with  its  blessings  from  one,  and  its  cursings  from 
the  other.  Then,  there  are  mounts  Hor,  where  Aaron  died, 
and  Nebo,  where  Moses  looked,  first  across  the  Jordan  into 
the  land  of  promise,  and  then  across  a  narrower  stream  into 
heaven.  There  are  Carmel,  where  the  fire  descended  in  answer 
to  Elijah's  prayer,  and  Horeb  where  the  tempest  and  earth- 
quake and  fire  were  followed  by  the  still  small  voice. 

The  life  of  Christ  is  closely  related  to  the  hills  of  Palestine. 
More  than  once  he  went  apart  into  a  mountain  to  pray.  It 
was  from  a  mountain  crest  that,  beholding  the  beauties  of 
Jerusalem,  suddenly  revealed  to  his  vision,  he  wept  over  the 
city.  There  are  the  mount  with  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  at 
its  base,  and  the  mount  on  which  he  was  transfigured.     There 


l82 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


are  Calvary  with  its  cross  and  Olivet  where  his  feet  last  pressed 
the  earth  before  he  ascended  into  heaven. 

Among-  all  these  sacred  hills  room  must  l)e  made  for  an- 
other— the  mount  of  his  great  sermon.  A  little  apart  from 
the  nniltitude,  but  with  the  throng  in  full  sight  below,  Jesus 
took  his  disciples  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  two  low  horns  which 


A   CITY   SET   IN   A    HILL 


crown  the  summit  of  the  plateau  of  Hattin,  and  there  preached 
his  sermon  on  the  mount. 

The  hills  of  Scripture  fall  somewhat  naturally  into  pairs,  and 
this  mount  inevitably  suggests  comparison  with  Sinai,  where 
the  law  was  given.  The  author  of  Hebrews  contrasted,  not 
this  particular  hill.  Imt  the  whole  system  of  Christianity,  with 
Sinaitic  Judaism,  in  his  lofty  words:  "For  ye  are  not  come 
unto  a  mount  that  might  be  touched,  and  that  burned  with 


THE    SERMON    ON    THE    MOUNT 


183 


fire,  and  unto  blackness,  and  darkness,  and  tempest,  and  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  the  voice  of  words;  which  voice  they 
that  heard  entreated  that  no  word  more  should  be  spoken  unto 
them:    for  they  could  not  endure  that  which  was  enjoined,  If 


THE    SERMON    ON    THE    MOUNT — (FRITZ    VON    UHDE,     1846 — ) 


even  a  beast  touch  the  mountain,  it  shall  be  stoned;  and  so 
fearful  was  the  appearance,  that  Moses  said,  I  exceedingly 
fear  and  quake:  but  ye  are  come  unto  mount  Zion,  and  unto 
the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to 
innumerable  hosts  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and 
church  of  the  first-born  who  are  enrolled  in  heaven,  and  to  God 
the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect, 


l84  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  a  new  covenant,  and  to  the  Ijlood 
of  sprinkhng  that  speaketh  better  than  that  of  Abel." 
(Hebrews  12:  18-25.) 

It  is  natural  for  us  to  make  this  contrast  somewhat  more 
specific,  to  set  the  gospels  over  against  the  law,  the  beatitudes 
opposite  the  commandments,  and  to  contrast  the  system  of 
negation  and  command  of  the  Old  Testament  with  that  of  love 
and  inspiration  in  the  New.  Thus  does  Sinai  find  its  full  com- 
plement as  well  as  its  antithesis  in  the  mount  of  Christ's 
discourse.  Sinai  is  bleak,  barren  and  inaccessible;  but  Hattin 
is  fertile,  and  covered  with  flowers  and  grain;  the  command- 
ments are  negative  and  prohibitory;  the  beatitudes  overflow 
with  the  blessings  of  positive  righteousness. 

The  traveler  from  Nazareth  or  the  Mediterranean  coast  to 
the  Sea  of  Galilee,  following  the  road  that  winds  among  low 
hills  on  the  elevated  table  land,  sees  at  length  before  him  and 
to  the  left,  a  double-turreted  hill,  and  knows  it  at  once  as 
Mount  Hattin — the  "Horns  of  Haltin."  A  detour  of  a  mile 
or  more  will  bring  him  to  its  summit,  and  may  introduce  him 
to  a  group  of  dark  and  threatening-looking  Arabs,  who  rise 
up  out  of  the  ground  and  demand  bakshish  for  his  damage  to 
their  wheat  fields.  Whether  they  own  the  fields,  or  he  has 
done  them  any  damage,  need  not  long  be  considered,  nor  is 
it  necessary  to  incjuire  too  closely  into  their  intentions.  A 
few  small  coins,  produced  without  taking  out  his  purse,  may 
well  be  given  them,  and  the  tourist  will  do  well  to  rejoin  his 
company  on  the  road  below  as  speedily  as  is  consistent  with 
a  dignified  retreat.  No  tourist  should  ride  to  Hattin  alone, 
and  he  who  does  so  will  probably  be  left  somewhat  uncertain 
as  to  whether  the  Arabs  really  intended  to  rob  him  or  not. 
This,  at  least,  was  the  experience  of  some  men  of  mv  own 
party,  who  became  separated  from  the  main  body  by  their 
interest  in  the  Horns  of  Hattin. 

It  was  the  tradition  of  the  Crusaders  that  fixed  upon  Hattin 
as  the  scene  of  the  Sermon  on  the  ATount.  Dean  Stanlev 
adopted  the  tradition,  and  gave  it  general  currency.  Our  first 
thought  would  be  that  a  mountain  nearer  Capernaum  would 


THE    SERMON    ON    THE    MOUNT 


185 


more  probably  have  been  chosen;  l)ut  this  objection  grows 
less  if  Capernaum  was  at  Khan  Minyeh  and  not  at  Tell  Hum. 
The  "mountain"  is  only  sixty  feet  above  the  table-land;  but 
the  plateau  itself  stands  high  above  the  plain  of  the  lake.  It  is 
thus  conspicuous  from  the  lake,  and  would  easily  have  been 
the  goal  of  a  company  ascending  from  the  water's  edge  to 
hear  a  sermon  from  Jesus.  We  cannot,  of  course,  be  sure  that 
this  is  the  hill  where  Jesus  sat  and  preached,  but  there  is 
nothing  in  its  situation  to  render  the  tradition  improbable. 

The  Crusaders  gave  the  hill  its  present  name:  and  they  had 
sad  reason  to  remember  it;  for  here,  where  Jesus  blessed  the 
peace-makers,  occurred  a  bloody  battle.  On  July  5,  1187. 
under  a  blazing  sun,  thirsty  and  faint  and  overburdened  with 
their  armor,  the  Christians  fell  before  the  furious  charge  of 
Saladin.  Their  dead  bodies  lay  on  this  sacred  slope;  their 
blood  reddened  once  more  the  bloody  plain  of  Esdrcxlon;  and 
the  Saracen  was  left  in  possession  of  the  land  where  Jesus  lived 
and  taught.  Here  was  lost  the  true  cross,  as  the  Crusaders 
esteemed  it,  and  the  crescent  fiamed  over  the  Mount  of 
Beatitudes. 

Of  the  public  discourses  of  Jesus,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
is  the  one  most  fully  reported.  We  have  as  much  as  he  proba- 
bly spoke  in  fifteen  minutes,  and  that  appears  less  a  report 
of  a  single  discourse  than  a  collection  of  utterances,  some  of 
them  used  in  other  connections. 

Scholars  have  found  it  impossible  to  agree  upon  an  analysis 
of  this  address  which  makes  it  correspond  to  our  modern  idea 
of  a  sermon,  that  is.  a  connected  discourse,  with  a  definite 
proposition  and  with  logical  progress  of  thought  from  one 
division  to  the  next.  In  our  modern  sense  it  was  not  a  sermon 
at  all.  It  is  not  easy  to  state  its  central  thought  in  a  single 
proposition,  as  a  sermon  is  supposed  to  do,  but  the  teachings 
of  the  sermon  gather  about  the  general  idea  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  discusses  many  things — the 
blessedness  of  doing  good;  the  character  of  the  disciples  in  their 
relation  to  the  world;  the  relation  of  Christ's  teaching  to  the 
Law;    the  duty  and  the  form  of  prayer;    the  importance  of 


1 80 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


discrimination;  the  sin  of  judging  harshly;  and  the  stability  of 
character  of  those  who  hear  and  heed  the  sayings  of  Christ 
as  opposed  io  the  sandy  foundation  uiider  the  lives  of  those 
without  faith  in  him.  These  general  ideas  and  the  disconnected 
precepts  enjoining  these  duties,  have  these  co-ordinating  prin- 
ciples: trust  in  God.  who  cares  for  the  lily  and  the  sparrow; 
fidelity  to  our  fellow-men  in  the  spirit  of  the  Golden  Rule;  and 
the  essential  unity  of  all  spiritual  interests  in  the  kingdom  of 
God.     Trust  in  God.  as  herein  taught,  is  enjoined  with  this 


THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE    FROM    TELL    HUM 


promise,  "Seek  ye  first  his    kingdom  and    his  righteousness, 
and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  give  expositions  of  any 
of  the  extended  discussions  of  Jesus.  Books  abound  in  which 
this  is  done,  and  well  done.  Tt  is  enough  for  our  present  pur- 
pose to  note  in  this  discourse  the  relation  of  the  work  of 
Christ  to  the  Old  Testament  law.  Jesus  declared  that  he 
came  not  to  destroy  but  to  fulfil  the  law\  He  destroyed  only 
as  the  flower  is  destroyed  which  becomes  fruit;  for  he  said  of 
the  old  law^  "Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said,  .  .  .  but  I  say 
unto  you."    He  fulfilled  till  the  old  law  overflowed. 


THE    SERMON    ON    THE    MOUNT 


187 


There  are  two  wrong-  notions  of  Christianity,  one  that  it  is 
a  sort  of  revision  of  the  Jewish  law;  the  other,  that  it  is 
primarily  the  declaration  of  a  system  of  philosophy.  Chris- 
tianity is  not  a  system  of  legislation.  Christ  came  not  to  give 
law,  but  life.     "Which  is  the    great    commandment?"     The 


GARDEN    OF    THE    FRANCISCAN    MONKS    AT   TELL    HUM 

question  had  little  interest  for  Jesus,  but  he  had  an  answer. 
There  is  one  commandment  wliich  includes  them  all — love  for 
God  and  man.  But  this  is  the  very  point ;  love  cannot  be 
compelled;  hence  love  is  above  law.  Love  and  legislation  are 
two  different  matters.  Wherefore,  he  who  sees  in  Christ's 
"new  commandment"  only  a  summary  of  the  Alosaic  code 
misses  the  whole  spirit  of  Christianitv. 


l88  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

Some  good  people  have  this  idea  of  law  so  inwrought  into 
tiieir  minds  that  they  cannot  help  thinking  that  God  must  be 
the  victim  of  his  own  laws,  must  inflict  their  penalties  whether 
he  will  or  no.  And  they  say,  "God  would  willingly  forgive  the 
penitent  sinner,  but  the  penalty  of  law  must  be  enforced. 
Christ  paid  that  penalty,  and  we  are  free  from  the  law." 

But  he  who  thus  speaks  has  not  gotten  to  the  bottom  of  the 
problem.  To  him  may  be  said,  "Thou  hast  nothing  to  draw 
with,  and  the  well  is  deep.  Whence  shalt  thou  bring  up  living 
water?"  The  infliction  of  penalty  was  the  least  of  God's 
troubles.  What  God  desired  was  to  make  penalty  unnecessary. 
Christ  came  to  conquer  the  evil  that  has  its  root  in  flesh,  and 
give  righteouness,  not  of  mere  legality,  but  of  sonship. 

We  are  told  that  "What  the  law  could  not  do,"  God  accom- 
plished in  Christ.  The  law  could  do  some  things,  and  did.  It 
was  not  superfluous,  but  it  was  temporary.  It  was  not  the 
divine  ideal.  It  taught  men  the  power  of  God.  It  gave  to 
them  a  high  conception  of  their  obligation  to  him.  It  forced 
them  to  think  of  duty,  and  enhanced  their  idea  of  the  sinfulness 
of  sin  by  making  it  expensive,  and  by  the  shedding  of  blood. 
It  emphasized  the  elements  necessary  to  national  duty.  It 
kept  the  Jewish  people  separate,  an  integral  nation,  during  the 
long  time  needed  for  the  development  of  God's  purpose.  All 
this  and  more  the  law  did.  But  perfect  obedience  is-  not  thus 
secured.  The  law  was  weak  because  it  gave  no  permanent 
leverage  on  character.  A  man  might  keep  the  law  outwardly 
and  still  be  but  a  whited  sepulchre.  It  imposed  burdens  that 
were  irksome.  It  tended  to  promote  formal  observance  with- 
out the  spirit  of  obedience.  It  had  the  necessary  defects  of 
its  virtues.  It  was  a  good  thing  for  the  time  being.  It  was 
no  failure,  except  as  it  failed  to  do  what  it  was  never  expected 
to  do.  It  accomplished  what  God  intended,  and  God  is  patient 
and  can  wait  for  a  new  day  and  another  method.  God  is  fer- 
tile in  resources,  and  his  successes  are  largest  toward  the  last. 
The  earlier  methods  are  successful  in  proportion  to  their  rela- 
tion to  these. 


THE    SERMON    ON    THE    MOUNT 


i8() 


How  many  of  God's  efforts  seem  abortive!  The  first  man 
born  to  humanity  was  a  murderer.  The  first  attempt  to  make 
saints  of  his  parents  ended  in  their  expulsion  from  Paradise. 
The  first  settlement  of  the  then  known  world  was  so  unsatis- 
factory that  the  fiood  was  called  into  requisition.  The  first 
son  of  Abraham,  through  whom  the  patriarch  hoped  for  the 
promise,  was  a  warrior  with  his  hand  against  every  man's  hand. 
The  first  king  of  the  Jewish  nation  was  a  disappointment,  and 
a  new  dynasty  came  on.  And  the  author  of  Hebrews  would 
have  us  believe  that  the  whole  old  covenant  was  in  some  sort 
a  failure,  and  passed  away  for  its  weakness  and  unprofitableness 
(Heb.  7:  18). 

Jesus  came,  not  to  restore  the  law,  but  to  establish  a  republic 
of  God;  in  whose  realm  God  should  rule  by  consent  and  co- 
operation of  the  governed.  God  could  rule  unchallenged  in 
the  stellar  spaces,  but  in  the  heart  of  man  he  sought  and  still 
seeks  not  law,  but  grace.  "The  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but 
grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ." 


HE.^D    OF    CHRIST 

(da  VINCI.   1452- 1 5 19) 


CHAPTER  XVII 


THE  DOUBT  OF  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST 

One  day  in  the  summer  of  A.  D.  28,  two  or  three  men 
clambered  down  the  high  walls  that  shut  in  the  Dead  Sea,  and 
began  a  long  walk  up  the  Jordan  valley.  They  were  earnest 
men,  but  we  do  not  know  their  names.  They  were  from  the 
remnant  of  a  little  band  that  had  remained  with  John,  not 
forsaking  him  for  Jesus.  We  may  not  approve  their  judgment, 
but  we  must  admire  their  loyalty. 

These  men  had  seen,  with  jealousy  for  their  heroic  teacher, 
the  crowds  deserting  him  and  going  to  Jesus.  They  did  not 
understand  it,  and  they  did  not  like  it.  Who  was  Jesus  but 
a  disciple  of  John,  like  themselves?  Had  not  John  baptized 
him?  On  what  ground  but  one  could  he  rise  above  John — 
that  of  being  the  Messiah?  And  if  he  were  the  Messiah,  whv 
did  he  not  say  so,  and  prove  it  by  releasing  John?  They  had 
always  complained,  as  they  prayed  and  kept  their  fasts,  that 
Jesus  did  not  fast;  and  John  was  now  in  prison  in  the  dark 
fortress  of  Machaerus,  while  Jesus  was  attending  feasts  in 
Pharisees'  houses,  or  eating  with  INIatthew  and  the  like.  Whv 
did  he  not  stop  his  feasting  and  release  John?  Thev  pro- 
pounded these  question  to  John:  and  John,  heroic  doubter,  at 
length  charged  them  to  go  ^^o  Jesus  and  demand  an  answer  to 
this  question:  "Art  thou  he  that  should  come,  or  look  we  for 
another?"  Jesus  did  not  answer  the  question  directly  which 
these  stern  men  propounded  to  him,  but  said  to  John's 
disciples,  "Go  and  shew  John  again  these  things  which  ye  do 
hear  and  see:  The  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk, 
the  lepers  are  cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised  up, 
and  the  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them.  And  blessed  is 
he.  whosoever  shall  not  be  offended  in  me"  (Matt.  11:  4-6). 

190 


THE    DOUBT    OF    JOHN    THE    BAPTIST 


191 


He  knew  that  he  could  trust  John  to  make  the  deduction. 
John  might  doubt,  but  he  would  not  desert.  Jesus  hastened, 
too,  to  tell  his  own  disciples  not  to  think  ill  of  John  for  his 
doubt;  John  was  no  reed  shaken  by  the  wind,  but  a  man,  every 
inch  a  man.  Another  point  Jesus  wished  made  clear;  the  right 
of  John  and  himself  to  live  differently,  and  to  teach  in  different 
ways,  and  yet  both  to  speak  God's  truth  and  live  godly  lives. 


YOUNG    JOHN    THE    BAPTIST — (RAPHAEL,     I483-I520) 


John  lived  the  ascetic  life;  Jesus  lived  a  free  life  among  men. 
He  did  not  say  that  his  or  John's  was  the  better  way,  but  that 
wisdom  was  justified  of  both  her  children,  and  that  people 
who  wished  to  do  right  might  choose  in  all  earnestness  the 
one  or  the  other  course  for  the  sake  of  God  and  the  world. 
But  he  complained  that  people  criticised  both,  and  followed 
neither. 


jg2  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

Jesus  was  no  bigot.  He  was  tolerant.  ])road,  appreciative. 
The  principles  which  he  laid  down  concerning-  himself  and 
John  were  wise,  just  and  right.  Not  uniformity  of  outward  life, 
but  unity  in  the  inward  spirit ;  not  unity  of  creed,  but  unity  of 
faith — this  is  the  unit}-  of  the  gospel. 

It  was  the  question  of  John's  disciples  in  regard  to  fasting, 
however,  that  brought  forth  that  statement  of  Jesus  of  the 
superiority  of  the  new  to  the  old.  And  this,  in  effect,  did 
pronounce  his  way  superior  to  that  of  John.  In  unmistakable 
terms  he  declared  that  the  new  way  was  better  than  the  old; 
that  he  had  not  come  to  patch  an  old  system,  but  to  establish 
a  new  and  better  one. 

"And  he  spake  also  a  parable  unto  them;  No  man  rendeth 
a  piece  from  a  new  garment  and  putteth  it  upon  an  old  gar- 
ment; else  he  will  rend  the  new,  and  also  the  piece  from  the 
new  will  not  agree  with  the  old.  And  no  man  putteth  new 
wine  into  old  wine-skins;  else  the  new  wine  will  burst  the  skins, 
and  itself  will  be  spilled,  and  the  skins  will  perish.  But  new 
wine  must  be  put  into  fresh  wine-skins.  And  no  man  having 
drunk  old  wine  desireth  new:  for  he  saith.  The  old  is  good" 
(Luke  5:  36-39). 

All  this  is  plain  but  the  last  verse,  which,  singularly,  is  often 
used  to  prove  the  very  opposite  of  what  Jesus  intended.  It 
is  one  of  the  misused  texts  of  Scripture.  It  is  taken  as  Christ's 
endorsement  of  old  ways  and  old  forms  of  faith.  But  Jesus 
was  telling  why  his  system  must  be  a  new  one — because  the 
old  one  was  not  worth  patching.  He  had  new  wine  which 
must  be  put  into  new  bottles.  Neither  was  the  old  wine  good 
enough  nor  were  the  old  bottles  good  enough.  The  contrast 
is  not  between  wine  which  was  good  because  old.  and  other 
wine  which  was  poor  because  new.  The  point  is  that  some 
men  have  drunk  of  the  old  until  thev  assume  that  onlv  old  can 
be  good. 

Old  wine  is  not  always  good,  neither  is  new  wine  necessarily 
bad.  Old  wine  may  be  better  than  wine  of  the  same  quality 
less  old.  but  the  process  of  aging  has  its  perils.  Old  wine 
becomes  musty.     Old  wine  deposit*;  drees.     The  old  pronhets 


THE    DOUBT    OF    JOHN    THE    BAPTIST 


193 


cried  out  against  the  people  of  their  day  that  they  had  "settled 
upon  their  lees"  (Jer.  48:  11;  Zeph.  1:  12J.  That  is  one  ot  the 
penis  of  old  wine.  That  was  the  trouble  in  Jesus'  day.  The 
wnie  was  so  old  that  it  was  near  the  bottom  of  the  cask;  stale 
full  of  sediment,  and  unwholesome.  People  said,  "The  old  is 
good  enough,"  and  kept  drinking  it,  and  the  longer  they  drank 
it,  the  worse  it  became.  Even  this  is  not  the  greatest  peril  in 
old   wine.      It   generates    increased    intoxicating    power.      It 


AIN    KARIM,    TRADITIONAL   BIRTHPLACE   OF   JOHN   THE   BAPTIST 

blinds  men  to  the  way  in  which  they  walk.  It  makes  men  be- 
lieve that  all  safety  is  in  the  past.  It  renders  them  careless  of 
the  duties  and  perils  of  the  present.  If  old  salt  can  lose  its 
savor  and  become  worthless,  old  wine  may  lose  its  virtue  and 
acquire  positive  poison. 

New  wine  lacks  much  which  connoisseurs  eniov.  It  lacks 
the  flavor  and  poetry,  and  I  know  not  how  much  more.  But 
it  has  life.  It  has  power  to  ferment  and  work  ofif  its  own 
impurities,  to  clarify  itself,  all  of  which  the  old  wine  lacks.     If 


ig4  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

the  fermentation  be  unpleasant  while  in  procuress,  it  is  at  least 
lietter  than  eternal  deadness.  The  new  is  raw  and  crude  and 
insipid,  or  at  least  it  has  the  credit  of  being  all  these,  but  it 
has  in  it  the  power  to  work  out  a  future.  It  has  not  settled 
into  hopeless  content  and  an  inert  conservatism. 

There  is  no  temper  of  mind,  except  a  shallow,  curious  skepti- 
cism, so  fatal  to  truth  as  a  dead  orthodoxy.  And  the  two  are 
not  incompatible.  They  often  co-exist  in  the  same  community, 
and  sometimes  in  the  same  individual.  The  stationary  nether 
millstone  of  conservatism  and  the  upper  stone  of  skeptical 
curiosity,  which  asks,  "What  is  truth?"  and  does  not  w^ait  for 
an  answer,  between  them  grind  truth  to  a  pow^der.  The 
temper  of  both  is  in  the  bad  sense  of  the  word,  conservative, 
yet  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term  both  are  destructive. 

Jesus  w^as  the  advocate  of  the  new.  He  came  as  the  bringer 
of  a  new  and  better  covenant.  He  taught  a  new  birth.  He 
revealed  a  new^  hope  for  humanity.  His  new  cloth  was  too 
good  to  be  used  to  patch  an  old  garment.  He  used  it  to  make 
a  new  and  better  spiritual  robe  than  the  fig-leaf  invention  of 
the  old.  He  taught  his  disciples  to  bring  out  of  their  treasures 
things  new  as  well  as  old,  and  the  things  he  taught  them  were 
to  them  surprisingly  new.  Men  were  continually  saying  that 
this  was  new  to  them,  that  they  had  never  seen  it  on  this  wise 
before.  He  came  to  fulfil  the  prophet's  promise  that  men 
should  receive  a  new  heart.  He  came  to  reveal  a  new  salvation. 
He  taught  a  new  code  of  ethics.  He  revealed  a  new  purpose 
of  God.  In  this  illustration  of  the  old  wine  and  the  new,  the 
old  bottles  and  the  new,  his  sympathies  were  wath  the  new, 
and  his  promise  to  his  disciples  was  to  drink  with  them  the 
fruit  of  the  vine,  new  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  when  the 
rapt  young  Son  of  Thunder  saw  him  in  his  final  glory,  it  was 
in  a  new  heaven  and  reigning  over  a  new  earth. 

We  talk  of  the  "old,  old  story,"  but  the  gospel  is  ''good 
news."  We  trace  the  same  plan  through  the  ages,  but  to  each 
age  it  is  a  new  revelation,  with  transitions  most  abrupt.  No 
age  has  been  able  fully  to  adjust  itself  to  the  new  features  of 
God's  plan.     It  is  a  defect  of  our  Christian  poetrv  and  hvmnody 


THE    DOUBT    OF    JOHN    THE    BAPTIST 


195 


that  we  have  few  songs  fitly  setting  forth  the  newness  and 
freshness  of  the  divine  Hfe  in  the  beHeving  soul.  We  have 
even  dropped  from  our  hymn-books  that  first  of  the  hymns 
of  Watts, 

Behold  the   glories  of  the   Lamb 

Upon    his    Father's    throne; 
Prepare    new    honors    for    his    name. 

And   songs   before   unknown. 

We  have  songs  that  are  new,  but  in  too  large  proportion 
they  are  songs  about  the  "old.  old  story."     The  Bible  is  full 


JOHN     REBUKING     HEROD— (G.     FATTORI.     1828— ) 


of  the  shout,  "Oh,  sing  unto  the  Lord  a  new  song."  and  the 
promise  of  heaven  is  that  the  songs  shall  be  new.  With  God 
is  perpetual  spring-time  of  righteousness:  the  Christian  life 
is  a  fountain  of  everlasting  youth.  Experience  and  the  song 
of  the  Christian  should  be  more  of  the  newness  of  the  hope 


igb  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

which  has  come  to  men  in  Christ.     We  are  .ill  familiar  with 
the   camjvnicetinc^   song— 

It's  the  old-time   religion. 
And  it's  good  enough  lor  me. 

Its  successive  stanzas  tell  thai  it  was  "good  enough  for 
Moses,"  and  "good  enough  for  David."  and  so  on.  The  tune 
has  the  swing  and  tread  of  conviction,  and  the  theme  gathers 
power  as  the  song  goes  on.  But  the  religion  that  was  good 
enough  for  Closes  was  the  best  religion  that  Moses  could 
obtain;  "the  old-time  religion"  was  not  good  enough  for  him. 
The  religion  that  was  good  enough  for  David,  was  David's 
best  possible  and  somewhat  better  than  that  of  Moses.  John's 
religion  was  good,  but  not  good  enough  for  Jesus.  The  new 
was  better. 

We  have  had  glimpses  of  the  character  of  John  and  we  a^e 
soon  to  lose  sight  of  him  altogether.  Before  the  sword  falls, 
let  us  pause  for  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  of  the  man  who 
sits  in  his  chains  awaiting — and  with  what  emotion — the 
return  of  his  messengers  from  their  visit  to  Jesus. 

With  John  we  stand  upon  the  watershed,  between  the  Old 
and  the  New  dispensations.  He  belonged  to  the  Old,  and 
hence  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  had  privileges  denied 
him;  but  his  heart  and  life  belonged  to  the  New,  and  among 
earth's  unselfish  heroes  his  is  a  foremost  place. 

Let  us  notice  first  his  modesty  and  unselfishness.  The 
people  were  eager  to  claim  him  as  the  Christ.  Popular  senti- 
ment was  all  in  his  favor.  Even  after  he  was  dead,  his  name 
was  a  name  to  conjure  with,  and  was  well  used  by  Jesus  for 
his  own  protection.  The  Jews  could  not  answer  his  question 
concerning  John,  for  they  feared  the  people,  for  all  men 
acknowledged  John  as  a  prophet.  This  speaks  more  even 
than  the  burst  of  intense  enthusiasm  which  his  life  kindled 
for  the  depth  of  his  influence  upon  the  nation.  Had  he 
assumed  to  l)e  the  Messiah,  he  could  have  gathered  about  him 
a  band  as  devoted  and  loyal  as  that  which  went  out  into  the 
wilderness  to  Mattathias,  tlie  Maccabee,  and  his  sons.  "But  he 
confessed,  and  denied  not;  but  confessed,  T  am  not  the  Christ." 


THE    DOUBT    OF    JOHN    THE    BAPTIST  197 

He  denied  even  beings  the  prophet  whom  they  were  expecting. 
He  bore  the  office  of  EHjah,  but  refused  EHjah's  honors.  Even 
the  honors  due  himself  he  decHned  in  his  ahiiost  supersensitive 
fear  that  he  might  attach  the  popular  affection  so  strongly  to 
him  that  it  might  not  easily  transfer  itself  to  the  One  who  was 
to  come.  W'ho  this  One  was,  he  did  not  know.  He  was  per- 
sonally acquainted  w'ith  Jesus,  but  knew  him  only  as  an  upright 
man.  "I  knew  him  not:  but  he  that  sent  me  to  baptize  with 
water,  the  same  said  unto  me.  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the 
Spirit  descending,  and  remaining  on  him,  the  same  is  he  which 
baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  To  behold  this  descent  of 
the  Spirit.  John  \vatched  eagerly.  He  seems  to  have  thought 
of  the  coming  One  as  possibly  present  among  any  of  his  audi- 
ences, and  perhaps  eagerly  scanned  the  faces  before  him  him- 
self to  discover,  if  he  might,  the  expected  King,  as  he  said: 
"There  standeth  one  among  you,  whom  ye  know  not ;  he  it 
is,  who  coming  after  me  is  preferred  before  me,  whose  shoe's 
latchet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose." 

If  to  any  one  it  seem  an  easy  thing  for  such  a  man  as  John 
to  lay  dow^n  his  honors  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  let  him  but  reflect 
how  earnestly  he  himself  is  tempted  to  contend  for  such  petty 
honors  as  may  come  to  him,  and  how  hard  a  thing  it  is  to  lay 
them  aside  for  duty's  sake;  and  then  put  himself,  with  all  a 
man's  pride  of  leadership,  with  all  a  man's  aspirations,  with  all 
a  man's  love  of  accomplishing  in  the  sight  of  men  what  he 
feels  himself  able  to  accomplish,  with  all  a  man's  fondness  for 
recognition,  and  natural  inclination  to  protest  against  neglect, 
in  John's  place,  and  try  to  imagine  himself  doing  what  John  did. 

To  be  sure,  John  did  but  his  duty;  but  if  a  man  be  not 
praised  for  doing  his  duty,  for  what  shall  he  be  praised?  And 
if  he  himself,  by  stern  determination  to  make  that  duty  appear 
easy,  covers  from  the  world  the  struggle,  the  disappointment, 
the  humiliation  which  it  involves,  shall  we  not  the  more  cer- 
tainly give  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due?  "He  was  not  that 
Light,  but  was  sent  to  bear  witness  of  that  Light,"  says  the 
other  John  of  him;  but  Christ  is  unwilling  that  we  should 
think  because  John  was  not  that  light,  he  was  no  light  at  all. 


198  JESUS    OF    NAZARI-TII 

"He  was  a  burning  and  a  shining  light,"  says  Jesus.  But  John 
himself  did  not  call  himself  even  a  light.  He  was  not  the 
Christ,  not  Elijah,  not  that  other  prophet,  nothing  at  all — but 
a  voice.  He  was  simply  his  message;  as  to  his  personality,  he 
was  not.  John  was  like  that  unknown  prophet  of  the  exile, 
who  either  found  an  unrecognized  book  of  Isaiah — which  for  a 
hundred  or  more  years  had  lain  without  influencing  current 
literature  or  thought,  so  far  as  we  can  learn — or  himself  gave 
to  the  captive  Jews  the  latter  part  of  the  book  now  known  by 
the  name  of  Isaiah  (and  whichever  of  these  hypotheses  is  true, 
lie  must  have  been  a  man  of  rare  faith  and  inspiration).  Like 
that  exile  prophet  who  took  up  the  broken  strands  of  earlier 
prophecy  and  connected  them  with  his  own  time  and  cast 
to  the  sinking  nation  a  strong  rope  of  hope — but  who  is  him- 
self known  to  us,  not  even  by  name,  but  only  as  an  echo  of 
Isaiah — John  wished  to  be  simply  "a  voice."  He  answered 
inquiries  concerning  himself  by  quoting  those  earlier  words  and 
saying,  "I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness.  Prepare 
ye  the  way  of  the  Lord."  It  is  not  easy  to  eliminate  one's 
personality  and  be  but  a  voice.  When  children,  we  were  told 
by  our  elders,  and  we  learned  tlie  lesson  with  difficulty,  that 
we  should  "be  seen  and  not  heard."  To  learn  later  in  life  to 
be  heard,  if  need  be,  but  not  seen,  is  not  an  easier  lesson.  It  is 
easier  to  give  alms  when  a  trumpet  is  sounded  before  us,  but 
greater  charity  is  sometimes  seen  only  by  him  who  seeth  in 
secret. 

We  must  note  also  the  character  of  his  preaching.  It  was 
preparatory,  but  it  was  thorough.  His  was  foundation  work 
which  was  to  be  covered  by  that  built  upon  it,  even  his  baptism 
not  counting  as  Christian  baptism,  but  it  was  no  half-way 
preaching  which  he  did.  The  ax  was  laid  to  the  root  of  the 
tree.  He  preached  repentance  and  the  approach  of  the  king- 
dom of  God.  The  great  themes  of  the  gospel — faith,  hope, 
love — were  treated  by  those  who  followed,  but  John's  themes 
are  by  no  means  out  of  date.  Grant  that  John  was  an  ascetic, 
that  his  hard  and  inflexible  doctrine  of  righteousness  is  inferior 
to  the  libertv  with  which  Christ  has  made  us  free,  the  time  has 


THE    DOUBT    OF    JOHN    THE    BAPTIST 


199 


not  come  as  yet  to  pass  liprhtly  over  the  need  of  deep  con- 
trition for  sin.  and  the  even  o-reater  need  of  brins^ing  forth 


THE  BEHEADING  OF  JOHN   THE  BAPTIST — (c.   S.   PEARCE.    1881 — ) 


fruits  meet  for  repentance.     John's  preaching  was  also  prac- 
tical.    It  took  hold  of  the  live  issues  of  the  dav,   the  labor 


200  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

troubles,  and  the  social  discontent  of  his  time.     It  was  strong^, 
earnest,  every-day  gospel,  good  for  all  times. 

Note  also  John's  courage.  When,  since  Nathan  stood  before 
David  and  rebuked  him  for  his  great  sin,  had  a  prophet  done 
a  more  courageous,  manly  thing  than  John  did  when  he 
rebuked  Herod?  It  was  no  reed  shaken  by  the  wind  which 
Herod  saw  before  him.  As  John  was  the  Elijah  of  the  New 
Testament,  so  Herod  was  its  Ahab,  and  Herodias  its  Jezebel; 
and  Elijah's  mission  to  that  weak  and  wicked  king  was  not 
more  perilous  or  courageous  than  that  of  John  to  the  other, 
no  less  wicked  and  vacillating.  Whether  Herod's  vain 
curiosity,  which  afterward  made  him  desire  to  see  Jesus,  caused 
him  to  send  for  John,  or  whether  John  strode  into  his  court 
with  the  abruptness  of  his  prototype,  we  do  not  know,  but  it 
is  recorded  that  "when  Herod  heard  him  he  was  much  per- 
plexed, and  heard  him  gladly."  It  is  dangerous  to  be  a  hearer 
of  the  word  and  not  a  doer.  There  sometimes  comes  with  the 
hearing  and  the  acquiescence  of  conscience  to  the  truth,  so 
virtuous  a  feeling  in  view  of  the  perception  of  the  truth,  that 
it  almost  passes  for  the  performance  of  it.  Meantime  Herodias 
nurses  her  wrath,  and  her  daughter  dances. 

So,  as  Elijah  had  his  juniper  tree,  John  had  his  Doubting 
Castle.  Do  not  try  to  explain  away  the  doubt.  It  was  real 
and  intense.  Great  natures  like  his  are  capable  of  being  rocked 
between  tumultuous  emotions.  John,  who  had  nerved  himself 
for  whatever  might  come,  who  expected  to  see  his  own  popu- 
larity wane,  and  was  willing  to  be  unnoticed  or  forgotten, 
could  not  bear  unmoved  the  enforced  inactivity,  the  prolonged 
uncertainty,  the  alternating  hope  and  fear  which  his  incarcera- 
tion in  the  castle  of  Machc-erus  involved,  while  a  sword  keener 
and  more  finely  hung  than  that  of  Damocles  was  suspended 
above  him;  and  the  new  Messiah  seemed  either  to  have  for- 
gotten the  forerunner  to  whom  he  owed  in  such  large  measure 
his  favorable  reception,  or  else  to  be  unable  to  help  him.  It 
was  not  simply  for  his  disciples'  sake  that  John  sent  to  Jesus 
to  ask,  "Art  thou  he  that  should  come,  or  do  we  look  for 
another?"     John  himself  needed  the  assurance  of  Jesus'  answer. 


THE    DOUBT    OF    JOHN    THE    BAPTIST  201 

And  probably  he  then  died,  disappointed  l)nt  trusting-.  There 
must  have  come  to  him  at  times  grave  doubts,  awful  misgiv- 
ings, feelings  of  unutterable  despondency,  when  it  seemed  that 
his  whole  mission  had  failed.  Yet,  there  was  the  memory 
of  Jesus'  holy  life  and  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  and  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  to  the  poor;  he  must  trust.  So  John  held 
on  in  the  darkness  till  God  reached  down  and  took  the  hand 
that  was  almost  numb  with  long  clinging  in  the  storm  and 
cold,  and  took  him  home. 

Luke  changes  the  order  of  events  in  this  narrative  that  we 
may  have  as  the  closing  scene  in  this  connection,  not  the  doubt 
and  death  of  John,  but  the  baptism  of  Jesus,  as  the  fitting 
close  of  John's  ministry.  So  he  tells  us  between  the  acts  of 
John's  imprisonment,  and  then  brings  the  ministry  of  John  to 
a  dramatic  close  when  he  baptized  Jesus,  and  witnessed  the 
descent  of  the  Spirit.  It  was  the  sign  for  which  John  had  been 
waiting.  His  acquaintance  v/itli  Jesus  and  his  confession  of 
his  own  unworthiness  to  baptize  him,  made  it  easy  to  believe 
that  it  was  he  whom  God  had  called;  and  when  the  Spirit 
descended  upon  him,  John  saw  it,  and  heard  the  voice  and 
believed.  Then  he  pointed  his  disciples  to  him  as  the  Lamb 
of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  Day  by  day, 
without  regret,  he  saw  his  audiences  growing  smaller  and 
those  of  Jesus  growing  larger.  Though  Jesus  was  most  con- 
siderate of  his  feelings,  it  must  have  been  hard  for  John  cheer- 
fully to  live  up  to  his  own  ideal,  and  be  content  to  decrease  that 
Jesus  might  increase — yet  nobly  he  did  it.  He  was  not  the 
bridegroom,  but  his  friend;  and  the  friend  of  the  bridegroom 
rejoiced.  Noble  man!  Among  those  that  have  been  born  of 
women  his  superior  hath  not  been  seen  for  courage,  for  devo- 
tion, for  unostentatious  fidelity.  He  was  a  burning  and  a 
shining  light,  and  he  went  out,  but  not  as  a  torch,  in  smoke 
and  darkness;  his  was  the  light  of  the  morning  star,  which 
shines  on  somewhere,  though  to  us  its  light  is  lost  in  the 
greater  effulgence  of  the  Sun  of  whose  rising  it  is  the  harbinger. 

God  raises  up  special  men  for  special  times.  There  is  ever 
a  man  sent  from  God,  whose  name  redeems  history  just  when 


202  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

all  seems  lost.  No  good  work  fails.  A  man's  methods  may 
be  outgrown,  and  the  ends  for  which  he  labors  drop  from  popu- 
lar view,  yet  the  man's  cause  may  gloriously  succeed.  The 
ship  is  sometimes  as  truly  making  toward  port,  and  utilizing 
every  league  that  it  has  gained,  when  sailing  on  an  entirely 
different  tack.  A  man's  cause  may  seem  to  die  with  him,  yet 
he,  being  dead,  still  speak.  Fidelity  is  true  success.  Faith, 
hope,  love,  courage,  sincerity,  can  never  really  fail.  A  man 
is  not  always  the  best  judge  of  his  own  success.  More  than 
one  man  sent  from  God  has  died  saying,  "I  am  not  the  light, 
but  only  a  witness,"  of  whom  God  says,  "He  was  a  bright  and 
shining  light."  God  bless  all  who  do  the  work  of  John  in  the 
world — and  their  name  is  legion — mothers  whose  unseen  toil 
will  bear  fruit  in  the  service  their  children  render  to  the  world; 
wives  who  stay  by  the  stufif,  but  wdiose  husbands'  success  in 
life  is  in  large  part  due  to  their  fidelity  and  love,  and  all  who 
labor  casting  bread  upon  the  waters  and  who  never  see  it 
return,  and  know  not  that  on  distant  shores  it  feeds  some  ship- 
wrecked soul!  Let  us  remember  how  full  the  world  is  of 
service  devoted  and  unselfish  and  true,  and  thank  God  and  take 
courage. 

It  is  characteristic  of  Christianity  that  its  face  is  ever  to  the 
future.  It  has  a  splendid  history,  but  it  does  not  rely  upon 
that  history  for  its  present  power,  nor  is  it  as  a  deposit  of 
historic  truth  that  chiefly  it  is  to  be  studied.  It  has  a  glorious 
past,  but  the  past  is  not  the  sphere  of  its  greatest  glory.  It 
points  backward  indeed  to  Eden  and  Sinai  and  Golgotha  and 
Olivet,  but  only  that  it  may  beckon  men  forward  to  the 
redeemed  society  of  earth  and  the  transformed  and  glorified 
multitude  of  heaven.  There  is  no  limit  set  to  the  possibility 
of  the  future  glory  of  the  Christian  life.  Eye  hath  not  seen  it : 
ear  hath  not  heard  it;  it  hath  not  entered  into  the  mind  of  the 
past.  John,  great  and  noble  as  he  is,  is  not  the  prophet  of  the 
future.  Not  "Back  to  John."  nor  "Back  to  the  Fathers,"  nor 
"Back  to  the  Old  Testament,"  nor  even  "Back  to  Christ," 
should  be  our  motto,  but  Forward  with  Christ. 


THE    DOUBT    OF    JOHN    THE    BAPTIST 


203 


Nearly  a  year  passed  with  John  in  prison.  John  had  brougnt 
down  on  himself  the  wrath  of  Herod  for  his  fidelity  to  truth 
and  righteousness.  A  merry  dancer  pleased  the  king,  and  he 
gave  her  John  the  Baptist's  head.  But  John  rose  from  the 
dead  before  the  troubled  conscience  of  Herod,  who  heard  of 
the  work  of  Jesus  and  remembered  his  sin — but  did  not 
forsake  it. 


THE   BURIAL    OF    JESUS— (LUCIO    MASSARI,    I569-1633) 


CHAPTER  XVIll 


THE  WOMEN  FRIEXDS  OF  JESUS 

From  the  middle  of  the  summer  of  the  year  A.  D.  28,  we  find 
a  new  group  among-  the  followers  of  Jesus.  They  accompanied 
him  on  his  second  preaching  tour,  and  "ministered  to  him  of 
their  substance"  (Luke  8:  1-3).  These  are  said  to  have  been 
healed  by  him,  and  they  followed  him  in  gratitude,  and  with 
loyalty,  that,  in  the  case  of  some  of  them,  ceased  not  to  the 
end.  Three  are  mentioned  at  the  outset,  Susanna,  and  Joanna, 
the  wife  of  Chuza,  Herod's  steward,  which  shows  how  near 
already  Christianity  had  come  to  the  palaces  of  the  realm,  and 
foremost  of  all,  Mary  of  Magdala,  the  most  slandered  woman 
of  history.  She  had  been  insane,  and  Jesus  had  healed  her. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  reason  to  believe  that  she  had  ever 
been  a  harlot,  and  the  chapter  heading  of  Luke  7  is  an  illus- 
tration of  wisdom  beyond  what  is  written.  All  we  know  of 
her  past  is  that  she  had  suffered  this  terrible  malady,  and  had 
been  healed  by  Jesus.  This  is  insufficient  ground  for  assuming 
that  she  had  led  a  wanton  life.  She  disappears  from  sight  after 
this  first  reference  till  near  the  end,  but  she  appears  at  the 
crucifixion  as  one  who  had  been  present  much  of  the  time  in 
the  interval,  devotedly  following  Jesus,  with  a  faithful  com- 
pany of  her  friends  (Matt.  27:  55-61;  28:  i). 

Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  appears  in  the  narrative  during 
this  same  summer.  She  had  come  over  from  Nazareth  with 
her  other  children,  full  of  solicitude  for  her  Son,  whom  rumor 
declared  to  have  gone  mad.  Joseph  was  doubtless  dead,  for 
Mary  and  her  children  had  come  alone.  It  was  a  ten  hours' 
walk  from  Nazareth  to  Capernaum,  and  the  familv  was  late 
in  arriving.  The  crowd  was  so  large  that  they  could  not  gain 
entrance  to  the  house.     They  sent  in  a  request  that  he  would 

204 


THE   WO.MEN    FRIENDS    OF   JESUS  205 

come  to  them.  But  Jesus  had  outgrown  home  restraint.  He 
could  not  now  submit  to  the  restriction  of  those  who  misun- 
derstood him.  Ilis  relations  were  with  the  world  at  large. 
"Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  in  heaven,  he  is 
my  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother,"  he  said.  It  was  essen- 
tially the  same  answer  he  had  made  when  a  woman  in  the 


THE  VIRGIN  ADORING  THE  CHILD — (CORREGGIO,    I494-I534) 

crowd  cried  out  her  expression  of  the  supreme  honor  that  must 
belong  to  her  W'ho  had  borne  and  nursed  him,  and  he  replied. 
''Yea,  rather,  blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word  of  God  and 
keep  it."  This  apparent  disowning  of  his  kindred  must  have 
seemed  hard  to  them,  and  it  is  not  easy  for  us  to  interpret 
otherwise,  but  we  may  be  sure  that  it  was  the  expression  of 
sincere  affection,  though  of  a  broader  and  more  inclusive  kind 


206 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


than  his  relatives  understood.  "Neither  did  his  brethren  be- 
Heve  in  him"  at  the  outset,  but  he  won  them  to  himself  and 
his  cause,  and  the  "brethren  of  the  Lord"  were  among  his 
truest  followers  afterward  (John  7:  3,  6;  I.  Cor.  9:  5;  Gal.  i:  19; 
Acts  i:  14).  Mary,  too,  his  mother,  who  had  kept  and  pon- 
dered many  things  in  her  heart,  left  her  home  in  Nazareth 
and  followed  him  to  the  end.     His  dying  care  was  to  provide 


THE    iMADUXXA   UK  THE  CAKPENTEK   SJlOr — (  DAGN  AN-BUU  VKET  j 

for  her  as  he  hung  on  the  cross,  near  which  she  stood  with 
her  sister,  and  with  Alary  Magdalene  (John  19:  25-27).  Faith- 
ful to  the  end,  she  trusted  even  after  the  crucifixion,  and  w^as 
with  the  company  in  the  upper  room  during  the  forty  days 
(Acts  i:  14).  among  the  women  friends  of  Jesus.  Earliest, 
dearest,  most  loving  and  best  loved  of  these  friends,  was  Mary, 
his  mother. 


THE    WOMEN    FRIENDS    OF   JESUS 


207 


Mention  of  these  three  Marys,  his  mother,  his  aunt,  and 
she  of  Magdala,  reminds  us  at  once  of  Mary  of  Bethany.  We 
do  not  know  whether  she  and  Martha  were  numbered  as  yet 
among  his  friends.     The  incident  recorded  by  Luke  in  which 


MADONNA    AND  CHILD — fAlBkECHT   DURER,    ISO7) 

Martha  fretted  because  Mary  was  not  helping  her  (Luke  lo: 
38-42),  is  not  very  definitely  fixed  in  its  chronology,  but  would 
seem  to  belong  in  the  visit  of  Jesus  to  Jerusalem  the  following 
December.     Even  so.  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  Jesus  had 


208 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


not  already  l)een  their  guest.  There  had  been  abundant  oppor- 
tunity for  visits  to  Bethany  in  his  early  Jud^an  ministry,  and 
on  the  occasion  of  his  more  recent  week  in  Jerusalem  at  the 
passover.  The  sisters  lived  at  Bethany,  and  so  we  do  not  see 
them  with  the  Galilaean  group  of  women,  but  we  cannot  forget 
ihem. 


CHRIST   TAKING    LEAVE    OF    HIS    MOTHER — (  DUREK,     I5II) 

No  doubt  Mary  and  Martha  represent  different  types  of 
Christian  life.  Mary  appears  the  more  intellectual,  Martha  the 
more  practical;  Mary  has  been  counted  the  more  spiritual,  but 
I  am  not  certain  that  this  judgment  is  correct.  Both  lacked 
perspective  for  their  faith.  Ench  was  limited  in  her  sphere  of 
vision,  Mary  by  the  opportunity  to  learn  of  Jesus — she  saw 
him  so  seldom  and  there  was  so  much  to  learn — and  Martha 
by  the  necessity  of  caring  properly  for  him,  and  perhaps  also 


THE   WOMEN    FRIENDS    OF   JESUS 


209 


by  her  temperament.  Martha  was  sensitive;  she  was  shut  out 
of  the  world  of  intellectual  realities  and  higher  companionships, 
which  world  was  very  real  to  Mary.  Not  more  did  she  fret,  I 
imagine,  about  doing  more  than  her  share  of  the  work,  than 
because  her  practical  mind  and  the  daily  round  of  domestic  care 
had  left  her  little  opportunity  of  sharing  what  Mary  so  en- 
joyed.   Martha  has  been  used  for  a  foil  for  Mary  for  something 


1.-, 

..m^' 


"  Mil  '-"^^^^^   II 


>^   • 


■j^' 


m 


M 


SO-CALLED    HOUSE    OF    LAZARUS,    BETHANY 


more  than  eighteen  centuries.  It  is  time  to  appeal  from  judg- 
ment that  has  been  rashly  made.  Martha,  too,  had  a  deep 
spiritual  nature,  as  we  shall  yet  learn.  It  is  quite  too  much  to 
censure  her  because  once  she  fretted  over  too  much  house- 
work. It  is  not  easy  to  be  a  Christian  over  a  hot  stove.  If 
every  woman  missed  heaven  who  at  some  time  has  grown 
impatient  over  the  vexations  of  having  to  be  both  cook  and 


210 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


hostess,  heaven  would  l)e  a  lonely  place.  I  admire  the  intellect- 
ual ardor  of  the  modern  JNIary,  who  will  have  knowledge 
though  the  heavens  fall  and  the  cookies  burn;  but  my  heart 
goes  out  to  Martha  in  the  kitchen.  Hurried  and  lluttered  lest 
all  may  not  go  well,  but  broiling  the  steak  to  a  turn.  Martha's 
theology  may  be  defective,  but  three  times  a  day  I  prefer  her 
to  IMary.  And  I  maintain  that  spirituality  is  consistent  with 
the  ability  to  make  bread.  The  Lord's  words  to  Martha  were 
a  rebuke  but  a  kind  one.     Thev  appear  to  have  meant  some- 


thing like  this:  "Martha,  you  embarrass  me  and  tire  yourself 
with  your  excess  of  kindness.  Do  not  worry.  And  let  Mary 
learn  her  lesson — both  you  and  she  will  need  it  for  your  com- 
fort. The  supreme  thing  in  life  is  not  bread,  but  food  for  the 
soul,  and  that  Mary  is  seeking." 

Blessed  be  Mary!  She  is  active  and  numerous  in  the  modern 
church,  and  the  church  is  blessed  by  her  activity.  She  teaches 
in  the  Sunday-school;  she  is  a  member  of  the  Missionary 
Society;  she  writes  papers  on  the  work  in  Japan  and  darkest 
Africa;  we  need  her  and  love  her  and  believe    in    her.      But 


THE    WOMEN    FRIENDS    OF   JESUS 


211 


blessed  also  be  Martha,  who  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her 
household  and  eateth  not  of  the  bread  of  idleness.  Jesus  loved 
them  both,  and  they  were  both  honorable  and  useful. 

We  have  called  thus  to  mind  a  few  of  the  women  friends  of 
Jesus,  and  they  are  a  noble  company.  Very  different  women 
they  were,  with  different  causes  for  affection,  but  loyal, 
devoted,  thankful — the  sisters  and  forerunners  of  that  splendid 


JESUS   AT   BETHANY — (hOFMANN.    1824 — ) 


company  of  women  that  for  nineteen  centuries  has  blessed  the 
Church  and  the  world.  But  there  are  others,  less  intimately 
associated  with  Jesus,  who  profited  by  his  friendship. 
Among  them  is  the  woman,  supposed  without  reason  to  have 
been  Mary  Magdalene,  wdio  came  in  uninvited  at  the  feast  of 
Simon  the  Pharisee,  and  annointed  Jesus'  feet,  w^ashing  them 
with  her  tears  and  wiping  them  with  her  hair  (Luke  7:  36-50). 
The  Pharisee  host  knew  her  reputation,  but  not  her  penitence; 


212 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


her  shame  was  pubHc,  hiii  not  her  sorrow.  The  woman,  whom 
good  men  had  spurned  and  bad  men  had  trampled  lower,  went 
forth  from  the  presence  of  Jesus,  forgiven  and  blessed. 

There  was  another  woman  who  came  to  Jesus  in  that  sum- 
mer at  Capernaum — she  who  touched  the  hem  of  Christ's  gar- 
ment. This  woman  had  spent  her  all  upon  physicians,  and  was 
nothing  better  but  rather  worse.  I  believe  it.  From  contem- 
porary documents  we  know  what  physicians  were  accustomed 
to  prescribe  for  that  trouble,  and  it  reminds  us  of  the  suffering 


■ ' w»: 

m^jm^ 

THE  READING    MAGDALEN — (CORREGGIO) 


of  women  through  the  ages  with  their  own  pains  and  those 
of  coming  generations,  while  the  help  of  men  is  often  little 
better  than  a  mockery. 

No  wonder  the  poor  woman  was  worse  rather  than  better. 
No  wonder  the  Jews  had  a  jorovcrb.  "Live  not  in  a  city  whose 
chief  is  a  medical  man,"  and  another  "The  best  among  doctors 
deserves  Gehenna  "  Physicians  had  their  value  even  then. 
Their  knowledge  and  skill  were  finite  abreast  of  the  age.  But 
alas  for  the  poor  woman!  The  only  comforting  fact  for  her  was 
that,  having   no  more  monev,   she  was  throucfh    with    them. 


THE    WOMEN    FRIENDS    OF    JT.SUS 


213 


This  poor  woman  came  to  Jesus  ceremonial])-  unclean,  empty 
of  purse,  and  ashamed  to  descril)e  her  trouble.  She  crept  up 
in  the  crowd  and  touched  the  hem  of  his  garment.  Every 
pious  Jew  obeyed  the  injunction  in  Numbers  15:  38,  39,  and 
wore  upon  his  garment  a  fringe  and  cord  of  blue.    She  touched 


JESUS,    MARY   AND   MARTHA — (SCHONHERR,    1824 — ) 


this;  it  was  a  mere  superstition,  if  we  please  to  call  it  so,  for 
the  cloth  had  no  merit;  or  it  was  a  beautiful  act  of  faith,  if  we 
are  able  to  see  things  as  Jesus  did.  Jesus  called  her  "Daugh- 
ter," though  she  probably  was  old  enough  to  have  been  his 
mother.  No  woman  likes  to  be  considered  old.  Jesus  was  a 
gentleman.    The  healing  and  the  gracious  words  alike  wrought 


214 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


lasting  blessing  to  the  poor  woman,  to  whom  some  men  in  her 
own  generation,  and  certainly  the  social  custom  of  the  time, 
exhibited  scant  courtesy,  and  perhaps  even  less  real  sympathy. 

She  only  touched  the  hem  of  his   Lj;arment 

As  to  his  side   she   stole. 
Amid   the   crowd  that   gathered   around   him. 

And  straightway  she  was  whole. 

He  turned  with  "Daughter,  be  of  good  comfort, 

Thy   faith   hath   made   thee   whole," 
And  peace   that  passeth  all   understanding 

With   gladness   filled   her   soul. 


,"^r*^f3'*'^f«B    ji 

4^-'  '      1"/: 

'r^^ 
'1^ 

r« 

QEH 

THE    FEAST    AT    THE    HOUSE    OF    SIMON    THE    PHARISEE — (rUBENS) 

The  disciples  wondered  that  the  Master  should  be  conscious 
of  a  touch  amid  the  pressure  of  the  crowd  on  every  side,  but 
this  was  not  really  so  wonderful  as  it  seemed  to  them.  The 
wonder  is  not  the  Master's  perception,  but  the  woman's  faith. 
It  would  have  been  amazing  if  he  had  not  recognized  the  timid 
yet  hopeful  touch  of  the  hem  of  his  Jewish  robe.  If  any  reader 
of  this  chapter  has  ever  passed  through  the  streets  of  a  great 
city  in  the  midst  of  a  Christmas  crowd,  leading  a  little  child, 
his  own  child,  pressing  close  upon  him  and  attempting  to  fol- 


THE   WOMEN    FRIENDS    OF   JESUS 


215 


low  his  lead,  he  has  recognized  the  vast  difference  between  the 
little  one's  attempt  to  arrest  his  attention  and  the  purposeless 
surging  of  the  multitude.  It  may  be  a  very  little  touch,  a  tug 
at  the  coat,  a  chubby  hand  clasping  a  single  finger,  in  fear  lest 
the  father  may  get  too  far  ahead,  or  an  effort  to  turn  him  aside 
for  a  moment  to  gaze  into  a  window;  but  amid  all  the  pushing 
and  thronging  the  father  recognizes  the  touch  of  the  hand 
that  belongs  to  his  own  little  one. 

There  were  thousands  of  people  who  thronged  Christ  in  the 


THE   WOMEN    FRIENDS    OF   JESUS — CaT.EX.    GOLZ) 


multitude,  but  not  many  who  touched  him.  The  woman  was 
probably  not  the  only  sick  person  in  the  crowd,  but  she  was 
the  one  that  found  healing  through  her  faith.  We  sometimes 
get  and  give  wrong  impressions  as  to  Christ's  success  with 
men.  We  note,  with  genuine  satisfaction,  how  he  discovered 
the  hidden  goodness  in  men  and  women  and  brought  it  to  the 
surface.  Men  who  sometimes  were  thought  unworthy  and 
hardly  worth  saving  were  found  by  him  in  all  their  possession 
of  latent  better  quaHties.  Jesus  was  the  discoverer  of  the  bet- 
ter nature  of  men.     Matthew  never  knew  himself  to  be  capable 


2l6 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


of  anything  but  the  business  of  a  publican  until  Christ  found 
him  and  enabled  him  to  write  a  gospel.  Simon  Peter  sup- 
posed himself  a  fisherman  for  life  until  Jesus  discovered  the 
real  greatness  of  his  character.  Zaccha^us  was  considered  a 
disreputable  citizen,  and  had  a  rather  grim  determination  to 
earn  his  reputation,  until  Jesus  discovered  in  him  the  elements 
of  a  noble  and  benevolent  man.  All  this  we  are  glad  to  re- 
member about  our  Lord  and  the  men  for  whom  he  labored,  for 


JESUS    AMONG    THE    PHARISEES — (jEAN     BERAUD) 

the  remembering  of  such  truths  as  these  reflects  honor  not 
only  to  him  but  on  the  people  among  whom  he  lived. 

And  yet  this  is  only  half  the  truth.  Large  numbers  of  men 
knew  Jesus  and  despised  him  because  he  was  a  carpenter.  They 
heard  him  speak  and  turned  away  when  they  saw  some  Phari- 
see sneer;  they  felt  their  hearts  burn  within  them,  but  delayed 
their  invitation  and  he  was  gone.  Multitudes  jostled  him  m 
the  crowd  here  and  there,  few  touched  him. 

The  case  is  not  wholly  different  to-day.  We  are  brought,  all 
of  us,  into  possible  personal  relations  with  Jesus;  indeed  we 


THE   WOMEN    FRIENDS    OF   JESUS 


217 


can  hardly  escape  him.  Where  shall  a  man  go  in  Christendom 
and  be  away  from  Christ?  To  what  pursuit  shall  he  give  him- 
self and  wholly  forget  the  Man  of  Nazareth?  Shall  he  plunge 
into  law,  business  or  politics?  The  words  of  Christ  have  be- 
come axioms  in  these  professions.  Shall  he  go  into  music, 
architecture  or  art?    The  great  canvases  are  eloquent  concern- 


^H^^K  ....  jflzQI 

•  W'  .^Hi  vt  II  awpi'         ~fl 

^^^^^^HP  -ft' 

'  W  '-■^^M  4a8P^2r— 1.        ilH 

.■'■• ""           '^'^f^^h^^^M 

'm_         ■  '\^^djflH  ^H 

^^HHyHUM|^^s  ,'^^^^^~SHM|liVH^^^^^^9|Hi  ^^^^|H 

ICSI^^  @  H 

' ' '  %^^^^ifefl 

s^^Ws^W^^^^^ 

j>J 

'' iCP"ffiHI  mmk 

^ 

IhUMIHI 

THE   WOMAN   AT  THE   HOUSE  OK   SIMON    THE   PHARISEE 
(school   of   GIOTTO,    I276-I33C) 


ing  him;  the  noblest  anthems  peal  forth  his  praise;  the  most 
superb  architectural  achievements  rear  their  arches  and  lift 
their  towering  spires  to  heaven  in  his  name.  If  he  would  go 
to  literature  his  case  would  be  no  better,  for  what  great  book 
does  he  read  that  does  not  by  its  contents  or  contrast  suggest 
the  Christ? 

But  these  things  after  all  may  make  only  a  jostling  crowd 
in  which  one  ever  is  near  to  Christ  but  never  touches  him. 


2i8  J1-:SL'S    OF    XAZARKTH 

The  man  who  feels  in  his  heart  tlie  need  he  has  of  heahng  may 
content  himself  with  the  mere  feelino-,  and,  having  received 
of  the  effects  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  may  fail  of  that  real  pos- 
session of  his  spirit,  without  which  there  is  no  vital  Christian- 
ity. In  one  case  there  is  the  mere  surging  of  the  crowd,  and 
in  the  other,  if  we  will  have  it  so,  there  is  the  striving  and  the 
seeking  which  bring  with  them  the  healing  and  the  blessing. 
With  those  who  lived  a  long  time  ago,  close  personal  con- 
tact is  impossible.  How  little  we  know  of  Jesus!  We  have  a 
fifteen  minutes'  report  of  one  sermon,  and  as  long  a  talk  with 
his  disciples,  and  a  good  many  incidents,  brief  and  more  or 
less  incomplete.  The  Bible  does  not  pretend  to  give  us  his  biog- 
raphy. We  have  no  picture  of  him.  We  have  no  trustworthy 
description  of  his  appearance.  He  lived  in  a  time  which  has 
to  be  interpreted  to  us.  We  need  to  have  explained  to  us  the 
customs  of  home  life  and  business,  of  v/eddings  and  funerals 
and  feasts,  to  understand  the  incidents  and  parables  which  are 
given  us.  We  know  but  a  few  facts  of  his  earthly  life,  and 
come  at  these  indirectly,  and  have  to  translate  them  into  our 
modern  language  and  forms  of  thought.  We  touch  but  the 
hem  of  his  garment,  yet  the  world  is  healed  with  the  touch. 
It  is  true  to-day  as  Whittier  wrote: 

The   healing   of   the    seamless   dress 

Is  by  our  beds  of  pain; 
We  touch  him  in  life's  throng  and  press, 
And  we  are  whole  again. 

There  was  another  woman  whom  we  should  remember  if  not 
as  a  friend  of  Jesus  at  least  as  one  who  counted  him  her 
friend — the  mother  of  the  young  man  whom  the  Lord  restored 
to  life  during  this  same  summer. 

On  the  northwestern  edge  of  "Little  Hermon,"  where  it 
slopes  down  into  the  Plain  of  Esdrselon,  stands  the  little  vil- 
lage of  Nain,  composed  of  a  pitiful  collection  of  mud  hovels. 
While  it  does  not  appear  ever  to  have  been  a  walled  city,  it 
was  once  larger  than  it  is  now,  and  a  place  of  more  importance, 
as  its  rubbish  heaps  witness.  The  village  is  approached  by  a 
rough  and  steep  path,  which  appears  to  have  been  unchanged 


THE    WOMEN    FRIENDS    OF    JESUS 


219 


since  the  days  of  Jesus;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  village  stands  a 
rude  little  mosque,  apparently  occupying-  the  site  of  an  earlier 
Christian  church,  and  called  "The  place  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

To  the  west  of  the  village  of  Nain,  and  on  the  left  as  one 
approaches  it  from  Capernaum,  are  rock-hewn  tombs,  many  of 


.       THE    SON    OF   THE    WIDOW    OF    NAIN — (h.    HOFMANN,    1824 — ) 

them  ancient.  The  traveler  entering  the  village  from  the 
north  has  the  whole  scene  brought  vividly  to  his  imagination — 
the  bier  and  funeral  procession  wending  its  slow  and  sad  way 
down  this  rocky  path;  the  Lord  meeting  it  at  the  entrance  to 
the  narrow  street,  and  halting  the  procession  to  recall  to  life 
the  widow's  son. 


220 


JESUS  oi-   \azari:th 


In  Palestine  the  dead  were  buried  as  quickly  as  possible,  and 
the  whole  neighborhood  joined  in  the  burial  service.  The 
graves  were  outside  the  cities,  and  were  treated  with  respect. 
The  body  was  carried  on  a  bier  or  in  an  open  coffin,  and  borne 
by  neighbors  who  changed  frequently  to  attord  opportunity  to 
a  larger  number  to  participate.  In  Judaea  the  musicians  and 
hired  mourners  would  have  preceded  the  body,  but  in  Galilee 
they  followed,  as  here  described.  The  women  came  immedi- 
ately behind  the  l)ier.  since  according  to  an  old  Jewish  saying. 


THE  VILLAGE  OF   NAIN 

woman  brought  death  into  the  world,  and  thus  should  lead  in 
the  procession  to  the  grave.  On  the  way  to  the  grave  the 
procession  frequently  halted  to  listen  to  brief  addresses,  and  at 
the  grave  there  was  often  a  funeral  oration.  Along  the  way 
the  hired  mourners  rent  the  air  with  their  cries. 

Whoever  met  a  funeral  procession  was  expected  to  turn  and 
join  it.  Instead,  our  Lord  halted  it.  Among  the  dishevelled 
women  with  their  mercenary  grief,  he  recognized  instantly  her 
whose  sorrow  was  real,  and  addressed  her  with  the  sympathetic 
words.  "Weep  not."     No  voice  that  ever  fell  on  human  ears 


THE    WOMEN    FRIENDS    OF    JESUS 


221 


was  so  potent  to  dry  tears;  but  how  could  she  cease  to  weep? 
for  the  dead  was  her  only  son,  and  she  a  widow.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  tell  the  story  in  words  as  simple,  picturesque  and  beau- 
tiful as  those  of  the  Gospel  narrative. 

"And  he  came  and  touched  the  bier;  and  the  bearers  stood 
still.  And  he  said,  ^'oung•  man,  I  say  unto  thee,  arise.  And 
he  that  was  dead  sat  up.  and  began  to  speak.  And  he  gave 
him  to  his  mother"  (Luke  7:  14-16). 

Only  once  in  Scripture  is  Nain  mentioned,  and  that  in  this 
passage.      It  is  quite  distinct   from   the   Nain   mentioned   by 


CHRIST    AT    THE    HOUSE   OF    LAZARUS — (SIEMIRADSKY,    1834 — ) 


Josephus  (B.  J.  IV.  ix:4),  which  was  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Jordan.  The  recorded  visit  of  Jesus  occurred  in  the  summer  of 
A.  D.  28,  on  the  day  after  the  healing  of  the  nobleman's  son 
in  Capernaum.  Jesus  probably  passed  through  the  village  on 
some  of  his  journeys,  but  we  have  no  record  of  the  fact. 

This  single  incident  gives  Nain  a  beauty  that  even  its  pres- 
ent squalor  and  filth  cannot  wdiollv  destroy.  Here  our  Lord 
brought  comfort  from  sorrows,  and  life  from  death.  The  com- 
fort that  came  to  the  heart  of  the  widow  of  Nain  has  come  with 
his  gospel  down  the  ages  and  flooded  the  sorrowing  world 
with  hope. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE  GREAT  TEACHER  AND  HIS  PUPILS 

Early  in  the  second  autumn  of  his  ministry,  Jesus  began  a 
new  system  of  instruction.  At  the  outset  he  had  taken  John's 
text,  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand,"  and  his  preaching 
had  been  propositional  and  didactic,  as  is  shown  by  the  sermon 
on  the  mount.  Now  it  became  illustrative  and  suggestive. 
The  parable  became  his  customary  method  of  teaching.  On 
the  first  day  on  which  he  is  declared  to  have  spoken  parables 
he  seems  to  have  delivered  seven  or  eight  of  those  that  are 
preserved  in  the  gospels. 

No  teacher  ever  employed  the  parable  so  naturally,  so  forci- 
bly, or  so  effectively  as  Jesus.  He  used  the  things  of  common 
life  to  illustrate  its  deepest  spiritual  truths.  As  he  spoke,  the 
material  for  his  illustrations  was  all  about  him.  The  fields 
close  at  hand  illustrated  the  four  kinds  of  soil  of  the  sower,  and 
showed  where  tares  as  well  as  wheat  had  grown.  Mustard 
seed,  sown  in  the  spring  had  grown  into  great  herbs  with  birds 
singing  within  hearing  while  he  spoke.  Merchants  in  the  little 
city  close  at  hand  were  buying  or  selling  their  wares;  and  fish- 
ermen near  by  were  castmg  their  nets,  or  sorting  their  fish. 
Jesus  did  not  go  far  away  for  his  material,  and  from  this  time 
on  "without  a  parable  spake  he  not  unto  them"  (Mark  4:  34). 

The  effect  of  these  parables  was  as  various  as  that  of  the 
seed  in  the  parable  of  the  sower.  Some  heard  the  parables  with 
delight,  but  obtained  no  spiritual  benefit  therefrom;  some 
thought  them  obscure,  and  heard  with  their  ears  but  did  not 
understand  with  their  hearts;  some  felt  the  rebuke  of  them,  but 
were  too  sinful  or  full  of  prejudice  to  heed  their  truth;  and 
some  eagerly  grasped  the  truth,  and  were  new  men  and  women 
from  that  dav  on. 


THE  GREAT  TEACHER  AND  HIS  PUPILS 


223 


The  eight  parables  grouped  in  this  one  report  are,  first,  the 
sower,  ihustrating  the  various  etTects  of  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel;  then  that  of  the  wheat  and  the  tares,  showing  the 
admixture  of  the  good  and  the  evil  in  the  world  as  Jesus  found 
it;  then  the  seed  that  grew  day  and  night,  illustrating  the  pro- 
gressive stages  of  the  spiritual  Hfe,  the  blade,  the  ear  and  the 
full  corn  in  the  ear;  then  the  mustard  seed,  illustrating  the 


X^Jdi^t 


THRESHING    FLOOR   IN    PALESTINE 


growth  of  the  kingdom  from  little  to  great;  then  the  leaven, 
illustrating  the  method  and  principle  of  that  grow^th  in  the 
individual  heart  and  in  the  world;  then  the  treasure  hid  in  the 
field,  and  the  pearl  of  great  price,  illustrating  the  supreme 
value  of  the  kingdom  of  God;  and  finally,  the  drag-net,  illus- 
trating the  inevitable  division  among  those  who  hear  and  seem 
to  heed  the  word,  but  not  all  of  whom  prove  faithful.  There 
were  parables  of  fact  and  of  method — parables  of  encourage- 


224  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

ment  and  of  warning- — parables  of  promise  of  the  coming  of 
the  kingdom,  which  show  his  marvelous  confidence  that  the 
seed  sown  m  the  rocky  soil  of  Galilee  would  overshadow  the 
nations,  and  that  the  leaven  in  the  hearts  of  the  little  com- 
pany of  his  followers,  would  yet  leaven  the  whole  lump.  This 
was  a  wonderful  series  of  lessons,  and  when  it  was  finished  the 
congregation  was  astonished  at  his  doctrine,  and  he  was  weary 
in  body  and  in  brain. 

From  this  time  till  the  end  of  his  ministry  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  was  chiefly  by  parable.  The  propositional  form  of  instruc- 
tion was  chiefly  employed  thenceforth  for  the  answering  of 
questions.  The  parable,  simple,  illustrative,  and  vielding  hid 
treasure  to  the  seeker,  was  so  constantly  employed  that  "with- 
out a  parable  spake  he  not  unto  them." 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  busy  day  on  which  he  uttered 
his  first  recorded  parables,  Jesus  crossed  the  lake  and  was  over- 
taken by  a  storm  on  the  way.  and  the  tempest  ceased  at  his 
command.  Tn  the  morning  they  came  "to  the  other  side,  into 
the  country  of  the  Gergesenes."  Here  two  demoniacs  were 
healed,  and  the  herd  of  swine  ran  down  into  the  sea.  The 
people,  fearful  lest  his  visit  should  bring  them  harm,  requested 
him  "to  depart  out  of  their  coasts,"  and  he  withdrew  (Matt. 
8:  23-34;  Mark  5:  1-20;  Luke  8:  26-39).  This  occurred  "in  the 
county  of  the  Gadarenes,"  or  "Gerasenes,"  in  the  region  oppo- 
site Capernaum,  known  as  Decapolis.  Jesus  repeatedly  crossed 
the  sea  to  this  region,  and  here  early  had  disciples.  His  actual 
ministry,  however,  was  limited  by  the  opposition  of  the  people 
aw^akened  by  the  loss  of  the  swine. 

Decapolis  was  a  region  named  from  its  ten  cities,  which 
Pliny  tells  us  were  Scythopolis.  Hippos,  Gardara,  Pella,  Phila- 
delphia, Gerasa,  Dion,  Canatha,  Damascus,  and  Raphana.  The 
region  included  all  Bashan  and  Gilead.  The  ten  cities  were 
zMied  for  purposes  of  defense  and  trade,  as  wre  manv  similar 
groups  in  the  Roman  Empire.  Tt  is  ]:)robable  that  Greeks 
made  up  a  considerable  part  of  the  population  of  the  colony, 
as  the  presence  of  swine  would  indicate.  Swine  are  compara- 
tively uncommon  in  Palestine  to-day,  but  T  saw  a  few  on  the 


THE    GREAT    TEACHER    AND    HIS    PUPILS 


225 


shore  of  the  Sea  of  Gahlee,  not  far  from  the  place  where  the 
herd  ran  down,  and  their  presence  at  once  suggested  the  nar- 
rative.   Few  travelers  go  far  into  Decapolis,  and  those  who  do 


JESUS   TEACHING   IN    THE   SYNAGOGUE 
(CORWIN    KNAPP   LINSOX) 

(courtesy   of   s.   s.    m'clure  CO.) 


soon  leave  behind  religious  associations.  There  are  abundant 
reminders  of  early  Roman  power.  Among  the  ruins  of  ancient 
cities  the  inhabitants,  manv  of  them  Circassian  colonists,  dig 


226  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

for  coins,  pottery  and  glass,  and  build  into  the  walls  of  their 
huts  carved  stones  and  mosaics  of  two  thousand  years  ago. 

The  scenes  of  Biblical  interest,  however,  lie  near  the  lake 
shore,  in  a  region  whose  hills  look  barren  and  uninviting  com- 
pared to  those  of  the  Galilee  side,  and  where  the  swine  could 
have  choice  of  several  excellent  places  for  their  descent. 

In  the  winter  of  A.  D.  28-9,  Jesus  went  about  on  his  third 
preaching  tour  (Matt.  9:35;  Mark  6:6).  It  is  probable  that 
this  tour  brought  him  again  to  Nazareth,  and  that,  while  not 
threatened  with  personal  violence  as  before,  he  met  indiffer- 
ence and  contempt.  His  mighty  works  aroused  some  wonder, 
but  little  real  faith  (Matt.  13  :54-58;  Mark  6:  1-6). 

Jesus  understood  well  by  this  time  the  certain  opposition 
that  awaited  him,  and  the  feeble  assistance  that  he  could 
expect  from  many  of  his  professed  followers.  He  talked  sternly 
to  several  half-hearted  disciples,  who,  on  one  pretext  or 
another,  sought  delay  or  excuse  (Matt.  8:  18-22;  Luke  9:  51- 
60).  Because  of  the  urgency  of  his  work  now,  and  also  its 
inevitable  limitations,  he  could  attempt  nothing  more  than  a 
mission  to  "the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,"  and  this 
would  call  for  the  utmost  efiforts  of  himself  and  his  disciples. 
The  harvest  was  great  and  the  laborers  were  few. 

Few  indeed  they  were.  John,  the  heroic  herald,  was  near 
the  end  of  his  life,  still  in  prison,  and  soon  to  die.  Jesus  him- 
self would  not  have  long  to  work.  He  had  few  friends  whom 
he  could  depend  upon;  but  he  called  the  twelve  whom  he  had 
chosen  four  or  five  months  before,  and  sent  them  out  in  pairs 
on  independent  preaching  tours.  They  must  soon  be  left  to 
work  in  the  world,  and  it  was  none  too  soon  for  them  to  be 
learning  how;  so  he  sent  them  forth  (Mat.  9:  36;  11:  i;  Mark 
6;  7-13;  Luke  9:  1-6). 

All  the  disciples  had  now  been  for  six  months,  and  several 
of  them  for  a  much  longer  period,  under  the  instruction  of 
Jesus.  They  were  now  to  go  forth  and  teach  others  what  thev 
had  learned.  It  was  a  double  advantage  for  them  to  do  this, 
for  in  teaching  they  learned  while  they  were  imparting.  He 
is  a  poor  teacher  who  does  not  learn  more  than  any    of    his 


THE    GREAT    TEACHER    AND    HiS    PUPILS 


22"] 


pupils.     The  apostles  were  learning  how  to  teach  the  world — 
and  they  learned. 

It  is  well,  doubtless,  for  us  to  drop  the  title  "Saint,"  without 
which  many  good  people  do  not  speak  or  write  the  names  of 
the  apostles  or  evangelists,  and  speak  of  them  familiarly  as 
"Peter,"  Matthew,"  "James"  and    "John."      But    they    were 


JESUS    STILLING    THE   TEMPEST — (dORE.     1833-1883) 


saints,  nevertheless,  albeit  very  human  and  imperfect  saints. 
How  great  is  our  debt  to  them!  Had  they  failed  to  remember 
and  repeat  the  words  of  Jesus,  we  should  hardly  have  heard  of 
him;  had  they  forsaken  him  when  the  multitudes  left  him,  we 
could  hardly  have  believed  in  him.  There  is  a  real  apostolic 
succession,  that  of  the  spirit;  for  we  are  built  on  the  founda- 


228  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

tion  of  the  apostles  and  prophets.  Jesus  Christ  himself  beincr 
the  chief  corner-stone.  These  men  treasured  the  words  of  Jesus 
even  when  it  is  evident  that  they  did  not  understand  them. 
Some  of  lliese  utterances  are  so  terse  and  epigrammatic  that 
once  heard  they  are  ever  rememliered;  the  apostles  thus 
remembered  and  recorded  them.  Some  are  of  such  profound 
wisdom  that  no  man  couM  have  invented  them;  the  apostles 
wrote  them  and  the  world  is  enriched.  Some  are  so  astounding 
that  no  one  but  Jesus  would  have  dared  to  utter  them;  the 
apostles  recorded  them,  and  history  has  verified  the  words. 

John  tells  us  that,  though  his  Gospel  was  added  as  a  supijle- 
ment  to  the  others,  it  is  far  from  completing  the  account  of  the 
life  of  Christ.  He  tells  us  that  there  are  many  other  things 
which  Jesus  did.  and  doubtless  said,  not  recorded  in  the  Gos- 
pels. The  question  has  often  been  asked  whether  we  have  any  of 
these  words  of  Jesus,  unrecorded  by  the  evangelists.  Certainlv 
we  have  one  of  them.  Paul  tells  us  to  "Remember  the  words  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  saith.  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than 
to  receive."  These  words  are  not  found  in  the  Gospels.  They 
were  doubtless  familiar  to  the  disciples,  however,  for  Paul's 
use  of  them  implies  previous  knowledge.  Either  they  were 
treasured  in  memory  and  transmitted  orally,  or  they  existed 
in  some  collection  of  detached  "Logia"  or  "sayings."  of  Jesus. 
There  is  a  good  deal  of  reason  to  believe  that  such  a  col'iectiDii 
of  "sayings"  existed.  A  few  years  ago  a  papyrus  leaf,  discov- 
ered at  Oxvrhvnchus  in  Egypt,  and  dating  from  the  earliest 
Christian  centuries,  seemed  to  bring  down  to  us  a  scrap  of  ,uich 
a  collection.  Besides  this,  the  early  Church  fathers  preserved 
several  alleged  "sayings"  of  Jesus. 

There  is  no  inherent  improbability  in  the  genuineness  of 
these  sayings.  They  are  as  likely  to  be  authentic  as  sayings  of 
Socrates  or  Cresar  similarly  preserved.  The  sources  from  which 
they  come  to  us  are  not  uniformly  trustworthy,  and  the  "say- 
ings" varv  in  value.  ]\Iany  of  them  are  mere  varieties  or  en- 
largements of  words  from  the  Gospels.  The  whole  collection 
shows  us  how  poor  and  incomplete  would  be  our  knov/ledge 
of  the  words  of  Jesus  if  we  had  to  trust  to  these  extra  Biblical 
sources. 


THE    GREAT    TEACHER    AND    HIS    PUPILS  229 

From  about  sixty  such  "sayings"  that  have  been  cuhed  out 
of  early  writings  by  modern  scholars,  1  have  selected  the  fol- 
lowing list,  containing  the  best  of  these  sayings,  and  those 
that  rest  on  the  best  evidence. 

I.  Remember  the  words  (logon)  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he 
saith.  It  is  more  l)1essed  to  give  than  to  receive. — Acts  20:  35. 


THE     HAND    TO    THE    TLOW 

2.  Behold  I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth 
and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his 
shame. — Rev.    16:   15. 

3.  On  the  same  day.  having  seen  one  working  on  the  Sab- 
bath, he  said  to  him.  O  man.  if  indeed  thou  knowest  what  thou 
doest,  thou  art  blessed;  but  if  thou  knowest  not.  thou  art 
cursed,  and  art  a  transo'ressor  of  the  law. — A  remarkable  addi- 
tion to  Luke  4:  4  found  in  one  ancient  MS.,  the  Codex  Bezse. 


230  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

called  Codex  D,  which  dates  from  about  500  A.  D.   The  quota- 
tion appears  to  be  still  more  ancient  than  the  manuscript. 

4.  In  whatsoever  state  I  find  you,  in  that  will  I  also  judge 
you. — Justin  Martyr,  who  died  about  166. 

5.  Ask  for  that  which  is  great,  and  that  which  is  little  shall 
be  added  unto  you. — Clement  of  Alexandria,  about  200  A.  D. 

6.  Prove  yourselves  tried  money  changers. — Clement  of 
Alexandria  and  others. 

7.  The  Son  of  God  saith.  Let  us  resist  all  iniquity,  and  hold 
it  in  hatred. 

8.  Thus  he  saith.  Those  who  wish  to  see  me  and  lay  hold 
on  my  kingdom  must  receive  me  by  affliction  and  suffering. — 
Barnabas. 

9.  But  ye  seek  to  increase  from  little,  and  from  greater  to 
be  less. — Codex  Bez?e,  called  Codex  D..  after  Alatt.  20:  28; 
also  the  Latin  and  Syriac  versions. 

10.  Woe  to  him  who  has  saddened  his  brother's  spirit. — 
Gospel  of  the  Hebrews,  now  lost  but  once  highly  valued  in  the 
Church;  this  fragment  is  quoted  by  Jerome  who  died  420. 

11.  Never  be  joyful  save  when  you  look  upon  your  brother 
in  love. — Gospel  of  Hebrews,  quoted  by  Jerome. 

12.  He  that  wonders  shall  reign,  and  he  that  reigns  shall 
rest.  Look  with  wonder  at  that  which  is  before  you. — Clement 
of  Alexandria. 

13.  T  came  to  put  an  end  to  sacrifices,  and  unless  ye  cease 
from  sacrificing,  God's  anger  will  not  cease  from  you. — Gospel 
of  the  Ebionites,  supposed  to  have  been  a  variation  of  Mat- 
thew. The  sect  disappeared  in  the  fourth  century.  This  pas- 
sage is  quoted  by  Epiphanius.  about  367,  A.  D.     He  died  403. 

14.  Jesus  saith  to  his  disciples.  Ask  great  things  and  the 
small  shall  be  added  unto  you;  and  ask  heavenly  things  and 
the  earthly  shall  be  added  unto  you. — Origen,  who  died  253. 

15.  The  Saviour  himself  saith,  He  who  is  near  me  is  near 
the  fire;  and  he  who  is  far  from  me  is  far  from  the  kingdom. 
— Origen. 

16.  The  Lord  says,  Keep  the  flesh  pure,  and  the  seal 
unspotted,  that  ye  may  receive  eternal  life. — Clement  of  Rome, 


THE  GREAT  TEACHER  AND  HIS  PUPILS 


231 


supposed  to  have  been  mentioned  by  Paul  in  Phil.  4:  3;  wrote 
his  epistle  about  97. 

17.  Jesus  saith,  For  those  that  are  sick  I  was  sick,  and  for 
those  that  hunger  I  suffered  hunger,  and  for  those  that  thirst 
I  suffered  thirst. — Origen. 

18.  It  was  not  through  unwillingness  to  impart  his  bless- 
ings that  the  Lord  ainiounced  in  some  Gospel  or  other:  My 
mystery  is  for  me  and  the  sons  of  my  house.     We  remember 


A    FAMILIAR    SCENE    IN    PALESTINE 


our  Lord  and  Master  how  he  s^id  to  us:    Keep  my  mysteries 
for  me  and  the  sons  of  my  house. — Clement  of  Alexandria. 

19.  I  will  select  to  myself  those  things:  Very,  very  excel- 
lent are  those  whom  my  Father  in  heaven  has  given  to  me. — 
Quoted  from  Eusebius,  about  325.  from  "The  Gospel  existing 
among  the  Jews  in  the  Hebrew  Tongue." 

20.  Peter  says  that  the  Lord  said  to  his  apostles:  Should 
then  any  one  of  Israel  be  willing  to  repent,  so  as  to  believe 


232  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

upon  God  throiigli  my  name,  hi?  sins  shall  he  foro^iven  him. 
After  twelve  years  go  ye  out  into  the  world,  lest  anyone  say, 
"We  did  not  hear." — Clement  of  Alexandria. 

21.  There  are  also  a  numher  of  ancient  additions  to  inci- 
dents in  the  Gospels,  with  amplifications  of  the  words  of  Jesus 
as  there  recorded.  Such  additions  are  most  easily  accounted 
for  of  all  textual  variations,  and  are  generally  to  be  distrusted, 
the  rule  of  textual  critics  being  to  prefer  the  shorter  reading. 
One  of  the  most  ancient  and  least  improbable  of  these  is  found 
in  Clement  of  Rome,  where  Peter  answers  Jesus,  saying:  "Ye 
.shall  l)e  as  lambs  in  the  midst  of  wolves,"  with  the  question, 
"But  what  if  the  wolves  tear  the  lambs?"  and  Jesus  answers, 
"Let  the  lambs  not  fear  that  the  wolves  can  hurt  them  after 
they  are  dead;  and  do  not  fear  those  that  kill  you  and  can  do 
no  more  to  you,  but  fear  him  who,  after  you  are  dead,  hath 
power  over  soul  and  body  to  cast  them  into  hell." 

22.  The  only  similar  addition  that  seems  worth  quoting  is 
an  insertion  in  the  story  of  the  rich  young  man.  "The  Lord 
saith  to  him:  How  sayest  thou,  I  have  kept  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  for  it  is  written  in  the  law.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself,  and  lo,  there  are  many  brothers  of  thine,  sons 
of  Abraham,  covered  with  dung  and  dying  with  hunger,  and 
thy  house  full  of  many  good  things,  and  yet  not  one  goes  out 
from  it  to  them. — Gospel  to  the  Hebrews,  as  quoted  by 
Origen. 

23.  To  this  interesting  list  may  be  added,  with  strong  pos- 
sibility that  they  are  among  the  "many  other  things"  that 
Jesus  said,  the  "sayings"  recorded  on  the  ancient  papyrus  leaf 
fliscovered  in  1897  in  the  ruins  of  Oxyrhynchus  in  Egypt: 

a.  The  first  is  a  part  of  the  saying  found  in  Alatthew  7:5: 
"And  then  thou  shalt  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote  that  is 
in  thy  brother's  eye." 

b.  "Jesus  saith,  Except  ye  fast  to  the  world,  ye  shall  in 
no  wise  find  the  kingdom  of  God;  and  except  ye  keep  the  Sab- 
bath, ye  shall  not  see  the  Father." 

c.  "Jesus  saith.  I  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  and  in 
the  flesh  was  T  seen  of  them,  and  T  found  all  men  drunken,  and 


THE    GREAT    TEACHER    AND    HIS    PUPILS 


233 


none  have  I  found  atliirst  among  them;  and  my  soul  grieveth 
over  the  sons  of  men  because  they  are  Ijlind  in  their  lieart." 

d.  '"''     *     *     *     poverty     *     *     *     *" 

e.  ''Jesus  saith,  Wherever  they  are  "  *  and  there  is  one 
*  *  alone,  I  am  with  him.  Raise  the  stone,  and  thou  shalt 
find  me.     Cleave  the  wood,  and  there  am  I." 


EGYPTIAN   PAPYRUS   CONTAINING      SAYINGS      OF   JESUS 
DISCOVERED    AT   OXVRHYNCHUS,    1897 

f.  "J^sus  saith,  A  prophet  is  not  acceptable  in  his  own 
country,  neither  doth  a  physician  work  cures  upon  them  that 
know  him." 

g.  "Jesus  saith,  A  city  built  on  the  top  of  a  high  hill  and 
established  can  neither  fall  nor  be  hid." 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE  BOY  WITH  THE  BASKET 

The  winter  passed,  and  spring-  came  again,  and  with  it  came 
a  new  period  of  popularity  for  Jesus,  a  period  brief,  but  almost 
overwhelming.  The  twelve  apostles  on  their  missionary  tours 
had  advertised  him  widely.  When  passover  time  drew  near, 
multitudes  of  pilgrims  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem,  crowded 
upon  him,  eager  to  see  and  hear  him,  and  curious  to  witness 
some  mighty  work.  Jesus  and  his  disciples  endured  the 
throngs  till  they  were  crowded  out  of  house  and  home,  having 
no  place  or  time  even  to  eat;  and  then  they  retreated  to  the 
other  side  of  the  lake,  to  the  region  of  Bethsaida.  Here  the 
multitudes  followed  them,  and  Jesus  wrought  the  only  miracle 
recorded  in  all  four  of  the  Gospels,  the  feeding  of  the  five 
thousand. 

We  have  seen  that  there  probably  was  a  Bethsaida  near 
Capernaum.  There  was  certainly  another  Bethsaida,  the  "Beth- 
saida Julias,"  east  of  the  Jordan,  referred  to  by.Josephus  (Ant. 
XVHL  2:1;  4:6;  B.  J.  n.  9:1;  HI.  10:7;  Life  71,  72,  73), 
and  Jerome  (Commentary  on  Matthew  16:  13).  This  is  the 
Bethsaida  of  Luke  9:  10,  near  the  "desert  place"  mentioned  in 
Matt.  14:13  and  INTark  6:31,  where  the  five  thousand  were 
fed.  George  Adam  Smith  supposes  a  single  town  divided 
by  the  Jordan,  but  this  hardly  fills  the  necessities  of  the  descrip- 
tion. Some  of  the  incidents  seem  to  require  a  Bethsaida  near 
Capernaum  on  the  western  side  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  The 
feeding  of  the  five  thousand  occurred  on  the  eastern  side,  and 
as  Luke  19:  10  tells  us  near  to  Bethsaida.  The  site  of  the  city 
is  discernible  on  the  slope  of  the  hills  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Jordan  and  above  it  on  the  table  land.  Tt  is  a  "desert  place." 
that  is,  uncultivated,  which  at  this  season  of  the  year  would 

234 


THE    BOV    WITH    THE    BASKET  235 

be  green  with  spring  grass.  Thus  it  was  when  I  saw  it  in 
March,  and  a  beautiful  place  for  a  large  gathering.  Later  in 
the  season  the  grass  would  be  dried  by  the  sun,  and  the  place 
hot  and  bare.  Near  here,  probably,  also  the  four  thousand 
were  fed,  and  from  here  Jesus  sailed  "to  the  parts  of  Dalmanu- 
tha"  in  the  borders  of  Magdala,  returning  "to  the  other  side" 
to  Bethsaida  (Matt.  15:32-39;  Mark  8:  1-22).  Here  he  healed 
the  blind  man  (Mark  8:  22),  first,  however,  leading  him  out  of 
the  village,  and  commanding  him  not  to  re-enter  it,  as  he 
desired  to  avoid  the  publicity  of  a  miracle. 

"Come  ye  yourselves  apart  unto  a  desert  place,  and  rest 
awhile."  So  said  the  Master  to  his  disciples;  and  both  he  and 
they  needed  a  vacation. 

The  Gospels  suggest  three  reasons  for  this  rest-time. 

The  first  is  that  Jesus  had  heard  of  the  death  of  John  the 
Baptist  (Matt.  14:  13).  In  that  event  he  doubtless  recognized 
a  possible  danger  to  himself,  and  he  was  moved  with  a  peculiar 
sorrow  over  the  murder  of  his  kinsman  and  friend. 

The  second  is  that  the  apostles  had  returned  from  their 
preaching  expeditions  (Mark  6:  30),  and  doubtless  needed  rest, 
as  well  as  opportunity  to  report  to  him  undisturbed,  and  to 
receive  from  him  instructions  for  future  labor. 

The  third  is  that  "There  were  many  coming  and  going,  and 
they  had  no  leisure  so  much  as  to  eat"  (Mark  6:  31). 

The  presence  of  the  crowd  is  explained  by  John,  who  tells 
us  that  the  passover  was  at  hand  (John  6:  4).  Jesus  and  his 
disciples  did  not  attend  it  (John  7:  i),  but  took  that  time,  when 
the  religious  life  of  the  nation  was  most  intense,  but  when  their 
own  work  was  at  a  momentary  halt,  for  needed  rest. 

That  our  Lord  did  not  obtain  the  rest  he  sought  is  no  argu- 
ment against  vacations.  Several  times  during  his  ministry  he 
withdrew  himself  for  quiet,  and  the  rest  needed  at  this  time 
was  probably  secured  a  few  days  later,  when  the  crowds  had 
passed  through  Galilee  and  were  at  Jerusalem. 

But  vacations  have  their  duties.  The  disciples  did  not  rest 
undisturbed  by  obligation.  There  is  no  place  on  earth  where 
we  may  escape  from  man's  needs;  no  desert  that  is  void  of  duty. 


236  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

The  disciples  soon  were  busy.  (lod  has  no  heaven  in  which  we 
shall  be  perpetually  idle;  both  there  and  here  are  rest  and  ser- 
vice. And  there  is  no  surer  test  of  Christian  character  than 
that  afforded  by  a  period  (if  rest. 

It  is  only  in  blessed  activity  that  the  soul  finds  rest.  "Come 
unto  me.  and  T  will  c^ive  you  rest,"  says  our  Lord.  The  relig- 
ion of  Christ  has  little  in  it  tliat  can  comfort  a  lazy  Christian. 

The  crowd  came  around  the  b.cad  of  the  lake,  curious  and 
exacting.  It  was  to  escape  this  crowd  he  had  gone  away,  bu* 
he  was  moved  with  compassion  toward  the  multitude  (Mark 
6:  34).  He  was  hungry  himself;  l)ut  it  was  not  of  his  own 
hunger  that  he  thought.  lie  was  suffering  great  sorrow  for 
the  death  of  a  friend;  but  it  was  the  sorrows  of  others  that 
moved  him.  He  was  weary,  and  in  need  of  rest;  yet  with 
unresting  toil  he  gave  rest  to  those  who  were  weary  and  had 
come  unto  him. 

Who  were  this  rabble,  anyway?  They  were  ready  to  crown 
him,  or  would  be  if  he  would  feed  them;  but  this  very  incident 
became  the  occasion  of  h's  teaching  them  truth  so  plain  that 
they  shrank  from  the  sacrifice  wdiich  his  service  might  involve. 
"From  that  time  many  of  his  disciples  went  back,  and  walked 
no  more  with  him"  (John  6:  66).  "From  that  time,"  of  all 
times  in  his  life!  This  fickle,  unstable  crowd,  intruding  upon 
his  quiet,  this  reckless,  improvident  horde  of  curious  people — 
he  was  moved  with  compassion  for  them!  It  was  just  a  year 
before  his  crucifixion.  Some  of  this  same  crowd  of  Galil.'can 
l)ilgrims  were  doubtless  of  those  that  would  shout,  "Hosaniia" 
a  year  hence,  and,  "Crucify  him!"  before  the  week  was  over; 
vet  he  had  compassion  upon  them. 

It  was  the  crisis  of  his  ministry.  The  "year  of  obscurity"  was 
over;  the  "year  of  popularity"  w^as  closing;  the  scribes  and 
priests  at  Jerusalem  were  already  bitterly  hostile;  but  one  thing 
could  save  him  from  their  machinations,  and  that  w^as  a  strong, 
popular  following,  so  constant  that  the  officials  dared  not 
brook  it.  Jesus  looked  upon  this  throng.  Here  were  "the 
people"  whom  the  officials  feared.  Could  he  be  sure  of  them? 
Would   they  stand   bv   him?    They   w^ere   eager  to   make  liim 


THE    BOY    WITH    THE    BASKET 


-237 


king-;  l)ut  would  they  supjiort;  him  in  the  crises  of  his  real  mis- 
sion? He  had  never  needed  the  support  of  a  multitude  so 
nnich  as  now.  By  their  thronging"  him  they  were  endangerino; 
his  life  unless  they  were  ready  to  support  him.  He  knew  that 
they  were  fickle,  unreliable,  yet  they  were  as  sheep  without  a 
shepherd,  and  he,  the  Good  Shepherd,  taught  them,  weary  as 
he  w^as.  He  bore  their  sorrows,  sorrowing,  as  lie  was.  He 
healed  their  sickness,  heartsick  as  he  was.  He  fed  them, 
hungry  as  he  was.  He  had,  he  has,  compassion  on  the  shep- 
herdless  multitude,  and  seeks  the  lost  sheep  "until  he  finds  it." 


THE    MULTirLKATlON     tl-    THE    LOAVES— (  MUKILLO,     1617-1682) 

It  were  an  easy  duty  to  be  kind  to  the  grateful  to  help  th-J 
appreciative;  to  heal  the  useful,  and  to  save  the  promising-. 
But  the  Christian  must  be  kind  to  the  unthankful;  the  soul 
winner  must  labor  for  the  hopeless;  the  physician  must  save 
the  life  that  can  never  be  a  strong  life  or,  so  far  as  he  can 
see,  a  useful  one.  The  duty  of  compassion  is  not  fulfilled  by 
an  easy-going  sympathy  that  mildly  wishes  well;  a  feeling  of 
compassion  is  needed  that  can  move  one  to  loving  service  for 
Christ's  sake.  Dominic  the  monk,  moved  with  compassion 
for  a  w^oman  whose  husband  was  enslaved  by  the  Moors,  would 
have  sold  himself  to  redeem  the  prisoner.  A  compassion  that 
bears  the  grief  and  sin  of  others — this  is  the  kind  that  saves. 


238  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

To  trust  the  people,  to  love  the  world,  to  have  faith  in  man 
as  man;  all  this  might  have  seemed  perilous.  Yet  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  also  a  democracy,  and  Jesus  awaits  for  his  ultimate 
coronation  not  only  the  will  of  heaven  Init  the  voluntary  choice 
o{  men.  Nor  shall  it  fail.  Fickle,  unstable  as  men  are.  his  love 
will  win.  in  winning,  has  won  them.  His  compassion  on  the 
multitude  has  justified  itself  already.  And  at  length  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  multitude  whom  no  man  can  number,  saved 
by  his  compassion.  Ave  shall  more  than  fulfil  the  dream  of  the 
Galila?an  throng.  By  unanimous  suffrage  of  redeemed  human- 
ity we  shall  crown  him  King  of  kings. 

Dr.  Horace  Bushnell  had  a  great  sermon  on  the  text  "Give 
ye  them  to  eat."  He  showed,  or  tried  to  show,  that  our  obli- 
gation is  not  limited  by  our  ability.  The  disciples  had  not  the 
ability  to  feed  the  crowd,  yet  Christ  commanded  them  to  do 
so.  Here,  clearly.  Dr.  Bushnell  affirmed,  the  requirement  was 
greater  than  the  power  of  the  disciples  to  perform.  He  went 
on  to  show  how  power  grows  by  the  exercise  of  power,  and 
how  sudden  strength  comes  with  the  emergency — strength 
in  excess  of  that  which  we  have  previously  possessed.  Alas, 
how  manv  people  fail  to  undertake  what  they  really  could  do  if 
they  thought  they  could!  According  to  your  faith.  1)e  it  unto 
you. 

We  will  not  dispute  with  Dr.  Bushnell  over  the  meaning  of 
words — he  himself  maintained  that  word  meanings  are  very 
flexible.  Probably  in  strict  use  of  language  the  contention 
would  not  hold.  Strictly  speaking,  obligation  is  always  meas- 
ured by  ability. 

And  the  fact  that  God  imposes  a  duty  is  assurance  that  (iod 
will  furnish  the  strength  to  perform  it.  Blessed  is  he  who 
believes  in  God  and  attempts  the  impossible!  Such  have  been 
the  men  whom  the  world  honors.  Such  are  her  discoverers, 
her  inventors,  her  prophets.  It  is  easy  enough  to  show  that 
the  thing  that  ought  to  be  done  is  impossible;  blessed  is  the 
man  who  hears  the  command  of-  God.  and  knows  that  the 
tiling  that  ought  to  be  can  be. 

A  wise  man  was  proving  to  other  wise  men  that  no  steamer 


THE    BOY    WITH    THE    BASKET 


239 


could  cross  the  ocean,  when  the  news  came  that  the  first 
steamer  was  across.  A  certain  noted  g'eneral  was  in  the  very 
act  of  explaining  to  a  Congressional  committee  why  a  certain 
fort  which  he  had  been  sent  to  attack  could  not  be  taken  by  the 
force  at  his  command,  when  the  newsboys  outside  began  to 
shout  the  news  of  a  Union  victory  in  the  fall  of  the  very  fort 


JESUS   THE  CHRIST — CmUNKACSY,    1846 — ) 

which  he  counted  impregnable.     Impossible  the  duty  laid  upon 
us?  Then  let  us  go  and  perform  it. 

Already,  apparently,  Jesus  had  raised  the  question  to  Philip, 
'AVhere  shall  we  buy  bread?"  (John  6:  5.)  Apparently  it  was 
not  an  unheard-of  thing  for  our  Lord  and  his  disciples  to  pro- 


240  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

vide  entertainment  for  those  who  came  from  afar.  They  seem 
to  have  been  i)repared  for  reasonable  expenditure  necessitated 
by  a  generous  hospitaHty. 

"Two  hundred  pennyworth  of  bread  is  not  sufficient  for 
them,  that  every  one  of  them  may  take  a  Httle,"  said  Phihp. 
It  is  one  of  the  few  hints  we  have  of  the  financial  condition  of 
the  apostolic  company.  Two  hundred  denarii,  this  was  Phihp's 
ready  calculation,  about  thirty  dollars,  but  having  the  purchas- 
ing power  of  perhaps  two  hundred  dollars.  A  denarius  was  a 
day's  wages.  We  have  no  reason  to  su]:)pose  that  our  Lord 
and  his  apostles  were  living  in  poverty.  Some  of  them  had 
been  men  of  some  means,  owning  their  boats  and  doing  a  good 
business.  Besides,  this  w^as  the  time  of  our  Lord's  popularity, 
and  his  friends  had  doubtless  contributed  money  from  time  to 
time.  Two  hundred  dollars  was  not  an  excessive  amount  to 
have  on  hand  for  a  family  of  thirteen  in  travel,  but  it  was  a 
comfortable  sum.  "If  we  should  give  all  we  have,"  Philip 
would  seem  to  say,  "it  would  give  each  man  a  morsel."  The 
problem  is  to  furnish  a  dinner  at  about  four  cents  a  j^late. 
Philip  was  right.  Yet  let  not  the  disciples  withhold  because 
it  will  take  all  they  have.  Duty  sometimes  requires  just  that, 
even  though  the  multitude  still  are  but  partly  fed. 

Sometimes,  we  need  to  remember,  the  Lord  calls  on  his  dis- 
ciples for  the  tw^o  hundred  pence.  He  does  not  always  work 
a  miracle.  We  do  well  to  figure,  as  Philip  did,  how  much  can 
be  accomplished  if  we  give  our  utmost.  Yet  we  are  never 
safe  in  assuming  that  our  all  is  God's  only  resource.  These 
three  things  avail  for  the  feeding  of  the  souls  of  men;  human- 
ity's hoard  of  common  good;  the  power  and  grace  of  God;  and 
the  contents  of  the  individual  life. 

When  we  have  given  our  all.  we  may  be  sure  that  God  will 
find  a  way  to  use  us.  A  rich  man's  son  offered  his  life  to  his 
country  in  the  time  of  the  Spanish  war.  He  was  kept  at 
Chickamauga  all  through  the  war,  shoeing  horses.  It  was  his 
place  of  service,  and  he  gave  his  effort  just  as  faithfully,  just 
as  heroically,  as  if  on  the  battle  field,  and  perhaps  more  so. 
Perhaps  more  so?    Yes.  I  rather  think  so.     It  is  easier  for  us 


THE    BOY    WITH    THE    BASKET  24I 

sometimes  to  fight  than  to  shoe  horses.  It  takes  less  grace, 
sometimes,  to  count  out  our  two  hundred  pence  and  see  it 
acknowledged  in  the  Missionary  Herald,  than  to  see  the  Mas- 
ter select  for  signal  honor  the  man  who  has  no  pence  at  all, 
but  only  the  basket  of  loaves  and  fishes. 

To  give  to  our  Master  our  best,  our  all,  and  then  to  serve  in 
the  way  he  shows  us — this  is  sacrifice  perfected.  The  disciples 
were  not  called  upon  at  this  time  to  do  this,  but  the  call  came 
both  before  and  after  to  forsake  all  for  his  sake.  On  this  occa- 
sion the  call  to  give  his  all  came  to  one  person  only — the  boy 
with  the  basket.  He  gave  his  all — we  shall  see  what  came  of  it. 
"There  is  a  lad  here!"  Then  the  case  is  not  altogether  hope- 
less! There  are  always  wonderful  possibilities  in  a  boy.  How 
often  his  friends  talk  of  him  as  a  bother,  but  in  emergencies 
they  turn  to  him. 

His  occasional  absence  when  needed  ought  to  emphasize 
his  convenience  at  other  times,  for  no  boy  is  always  at  hand, 
except  be  he  a  cripple,  poor  fellow!  A  normal,  healthy  boy 
must  find  many  places  to  be  in,  and  even  he  cannot  be  in  many 
at  once.  But  considering  the  number  of  the  places  w'here  he 
must  be,  and  the  variety  of  interests  which  he  must  care  for. 
it  is  rather  surprising  that  he  is  so  often  at  hand. 

And,  oh.  the  errands  he  runs,  and  the  wood  and  water  he 
carries,  and  the  potatoes  he  digs  when  the  supply  is  short  and 
dinner  likelv  to  be  late — even  now  many  a  household  wrould 
go  hungry  if  no  boy  were  at  hand  to  supplement  a  scant  meal 
by  a  mission  to  the  garden  or  the  grocery.  Blessings  on  the 
boy,  the  meddlesome,  noisy,  thoughtless,  impulsive,  afTectior.- 
ate.  generous,  ever-ready,  indispensable  boy! 

Blessed  be  Andrew,  the  discoverer  of  the  lad  Avith  the  bas- 
ket! He  did  not  know  that  the  boy  could  aid  them,  but  no 
one  knows  that  a  boy  cannot  help  in  any  given  emergency.  A 
boy  is  a  creature  of  wonderful  versatility. 

We  face  the  problems  of  the  future  sometimes  wath  anx- 
iety. Great  and  many  are  they,  and  the  men  on  whom  we  have 
leaned  grow  old  and  die.  But  the  case  is  not  yet  hopeless. 
There  is  a  lad  here,  and  tomorrow  he  will  be  a  man!    Bless 


242  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

you,  my  boy!  All  our  hopes  center  in  you!  Come,  let  us  see 
what  is  in  your  basket ! 

We  read  of  the  flood  in  Grand  Rapids  a  few  summers  since, 
and  W'Ondered  why  the  breakins^-  of  a  reservoir  just  at  dawn, 
and  the  pourinq-  of  a  torrent  down  a  valley  filled  with  houses, 
should  have  resulted  in  so  little  loss  of  life.  There  was  a  lad 
there!  The  newsboy,  delivering  his  early  ])apers  and  detecting 
the  leak  that  soon  was  to  be  a  yawning  chasm  in  the  wall  of 
the  reservoir,  with  a  wdiirling  flood  rushing  through  amain, 
roused  the  people  as  he  went,  and  saved,  God  only  knows  how 
many  lives.  There  was  a  lad  there,  and  so  ten  thousand  peo- 
ple escaped  with  their  lives.  There  was  a  lad  there  of  old,  and 
so  five  thousand  people  were  fed.     God  bless  the  boy! 

That  boy  sitting  beside  the  fire  and  watching  the  kettle 
cover  as  the  steam  lifts  it,  will  yet  invent  a  steam  engine.  That 
boy  in  a  log  cabin,  defending  the  w^eak  w'ith  his  great  strength, 
and  pitying  w'ith  his  large  heart  the  needy  and  the  suffering, 
w^hether  man  or  beast,  shall  yet  free  four  millions  of  bondmen. 
And  yonder  boy — who  knows  what  good  he  yet  may  do?  God 
bless  the  boy! 

The  boy  as  w^ell  as  the  disciples  must  have  asked  the  ques- 
tion. "What  are  they  among  so  many?"  Unless,  indeed,  lie 
never  thought  of  the  crowed.  He  had  only  enough  for  one, 
and  what  one  in  all  the  company  had  a  better  right  to  it?  Who 
has  so  good  a  right  to  the  boy's  basket  as  the  boy  himself? 
The  world  has  the  larger  claim  upon  your  basket,  my  boy,  and 
it  is  none  too  soon  for  you  to  learn  it! 

Thank  God  for  the  basket!  It  is  not  wholly  the  boy's  own, 
anyway.  The  prudence  of  the  good  mother  at  home  pro- 
vided the  loaves  and  the  fishes.  Teachers  and  parents  and 
friends  and  all  past  ages  have  been  filling  the  basket  against 
the  world's  need.    Our  life  is  a  basket  and  the  Master  needs  it. 

T  do  not  know  how  much  that  boy  knew  about  the  Master. 
T  presume  that  he  thought  his  basket  was  to  provide  a  dinner 
for  Jesus.  Now,  no  healthy  boy  gives  up  his  dinner  for  any- 
body without  a  struggle.  To  provide  a  dinner  even  for  J<?>i-is 
by  giving  of  his  own — and  all  the  boys  must  have  liked  him — 


THE    BOY    WITH    THE    BASKET 


243 


involved  a  sacrifice.  I  am  glad  that  it  was  a  boy  that  did  it. 
It  was  just  like  him.  He  was  hungry,  as  boys  are,  but  gen- 
erous, as  boys  are;  and  he  loved  the  Master  as  manly  boys  do 
when  they  know  and  understand  him.     Not  every  boy  would 


CHRIST    THE    COMPASSIONATE — (RAPHAEL,     I483-I520) 


have  done  it,  but  no  one  would  have  been  more  likely  to  do 
it  than  a  boy. 

"What  are  they  among  so  many?"  The  boy  does  not  know\ 
He  has  done  one  boy's  duty,  and  is  content.  Here  he  comes, 
blushing  and  eager,  hungry  yet  happy,  and  Andrew  leads  him, 
basket  and  all,  to  the  Master!  A  proud  moment  for  vou,  my 
hungry  little  fellow,  when  the  Master  smiles  on  you!    He  who 


244  JESUS    (JV    XAZARETH 

has  gone  hungry  for  the  Master's  sake,  or  that  the  multitude 
may  be  fed,  Ijegins  to  know  the  spirit  of  him  who  came  to  be 
the  Bread  of  Life;  and  the  Master's  approval — oh,  that  the 
world  cniild  believe  it  is  better  than  the  bread  that  perishes! 

"What  are  thev  among  so  many?"  What  are  Moft'at's  loaves 
among  the  degraded  multitudes  of  Africa?  Vet  he  breaks 
them,  and  thousands  eat.  and  are  filled,  \\diat  are  Robert 
Morrison's  loaves  among  the  millions  of  China?  Vet  multi- 
tudes hear  the  gospel  through  h.h  efforts.  Behold  the  teeming 
hordes  of  India:  yonder  is  an  unlettered  shoemaker.  William 
Carey.  What  has  he  in  his  basket  for  the  many  who  hunger 
there?  Be  patient  till  the  Master  breaks  the  loaves.  Now 
behold  in  the  unlearned  man,  the  translator  of  books,  the 
founder  of  schools,  the  originator  of  industries,  the  creator  of 
a  new  order  of  society!  Unlearned,  did  you  say?  Before  he 
died  he  was  a  professor  of  Sanskrit,  Bengali,  and  Marathi.  a 
writer  of  scientific  articles  for  wise  and  dignified  quarterlies,  a 
member  of  learned  societies  in  London,  and  much  more.  .\nd 
into  twenty-four  languages  and  dialects  of  India  he  translated 
the  Word  of  God.  The  Bible  miracle  grows  small  by  compari- 
son. The  miracles  of  the  multiplication  of  the  Bread  of  life 
are  greater. 

The  law  of  supply  and  demand  holds  in  the  spiritual  life. 
Jesus  gave  the  people  bread  because  they  needed  it  and  wanted 
it.  He  did  not  give  them  spiritual  grace,  though  they  needed 
it,  because  they  did  not  demand  it.  Emerson  quotes  God  a? 
saying,  "What  do  you  want?  Pay  for  it  and  take  it."  God  has 
both  kinds  of  bread.     It  is  a  question  which  the  people  want. 

Our  excessive  care  for  the  body  is  pathetic.  Many  of  our 
systems  of  healing,  whether  by  prayer  or  patent  medicine,  rise 
but  little  above  the  inherent  vulgarity  of  the  Egyptians'  em- 
balming of  the  spiritless  body.  Bread  and  the  circus  was  the 
sum  of  the  demand  of  the  Roman  populace;  the  people  gr.t 
both,  and  Rome  went  down. 

"And  they  did  eat,  and  were  all  filled."  They  all  ate  fish  and 
bread — the  same  food  that  was  in  the  basket;  but  more  of  it. 
The  miracle  did  not  change  the  quality.      Doubtless,   variety 


THE    BOY    WITH    THE    BASKET  24s 

would  ha\c  been  pleasant,  and  would  have  seemed  easy.  But 
he  who  tau^'ht  men  to  pray  for  daily  bread  was  content  to 
provide  life's  necessities.  It  was  not  that  he  .^rudg'ed  the  lux- 
uries— he  could  make  wine,  on  occasion,  and  wine,  whatever 
its  quality,  is  no  necessity.  But  the  necessities  of  life  are  the 
real  needs,  and  should  call  for  tlie  deepest  i^ratitude. 

Butter  costs  more  than  bread,  and  sauce  more  than  l)utter. 
The  luxuries  increase  in  cost  in  proportion  to  their  superfluity. 
Provisions  for  the  real  needs  of  men  are  the  most  abundant 
and  the  cheapest. 

Yet  how  many  of  us,  having  bread  and  fish,  have  thanked 
God  with  sweet  content?  How  often  we  have  teased  liim  for 
superfluous  things,  having  already  abundance  for  life's  necessi- 
ties! The  people,  fed  by  Jesus,  are  quite  ready  to  quote  Moses, 
and  to  covet  manna;  and  no  people  ever  grew  more  rebellious 
over  the  monotony  of  their  food  than  those  to  wdiom  Moses 
gave  bread  from  heaven. 

Jesus  gave  them  nothing  better;  because,  first,  he  gave  what 
was  brought  him;  secondly,  he  gave  what  the  people  needed 
most;  and  thirdly,  it  was  all  that  it  was  safe  to  give  them  lest 
their  well-fed  patriotism  should  cause  them  to  rush  into  insur- 
rection for  a  King  wdio  could  give  cake  as  well  as  bread. 

And  they  were  filled — until  tomorrow! 

But  still  they  were  empty  of  the  righteousness  for  which 
they  did  not  even  hunger  and  thirst,  yet  for  which  their  souls 
were  starving! 

The  ancient  Greeks  lived  on  acorns,  but  when  they  learned 
the  arts  of  wheat  culture  and  bread-making,  they  discarded 
their  former  food,  and  lived  on  the  better  and  more  nutritious 
bread  which  they  had  now  discovered.  We  have  no  occasion 
to  despise  God's  temporal  gifts,  but  every  reason  to  be  grateful 
for  them.  But  alas  for  him  whose  hunger  for  the  acorn  is  such 
that  he  never  discovers  the  wheat,  and  a  thousand  times  more, 
alas,  for  the  man  who  fills  his  life  with  the  bread  of  earth  and 
hungers  not  for  the  Bread  of  heaven. 

Bread  can  never  satisfy.  A  young  man  in  Chicago  cornered 
the  whea*^  market,  and  owned  more  breadstuffs  than  anv  man 


246  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

since  creation.  He  was  not  made  happy  thereby.  The  market 
turned  and  left  him  a  poorer  and  a  wiser  man.  But  he  who 
seeks  the  Bread  of  Hfe.  finds  it.  There  are  men  who  are  starv- 
ing, and  are  in  a  deUision,  ""as  when  a  hungry  man  dreameth, 
and  behold  he  eateth;  but  he  awaketli,  and  his  soul  is 
empty."  But  the  spiritual  gifts  of  God  fail  not  to  those  who 
hunger  for  them. 

Whose  were  the  baskets  that  were  filled?  We  do  not  know. 
Tt  is  well  that  the  miracle  was  unexpected,  else  doubtless  the 
people  least  likely  to  have  contrilnited  anything  to  the  feast 
had  been  there  with  empty  baskets.  It  was  probably  those 
who  had  been  provident  and  also  generous  who  had  baskets  for 
the  gathered  bread.  There  was  one  basket  at  hand  of  which 
we  know,  and  that,  we  may  be  sure,  was  filled  among  the  rest. 
It  was  nearest  to  the  place  where  the  Master  sat,  for  from  it 
had  come  forth  the  loaves  and  the  fishes;  and  it  requires  but 
little  wisdom  beyond  what  is  written  to  feel  sure  that  it  was 
the  first  one  filled. 

Ah  lad,  who  didst  give  with  thought  of  sacrifice,  not  hoping 
to  receive  again,  thine  now  is  this  almost  superfluous  joyf 
Great  had  been  thy  pleasure,  even  hadst  thou  given  and  re- 
ceived not.  for  all  thy  life  thou  shouldst  have  remembered  that 
thou,  with  the  Saviour,  didst  feed  the  hungry!  But  this  is  now 
thine  added  joy,  that  more  than  thou  gavest  has  come  back  to 
thee! 

We  have  read  the  poem  of  Sir  Ralph  the  Rover  and  the 
Inchcape  Rock;  how  the  cruel  pirate  cut  ofT  the  bell  that  had 
been  a  warning  to  seamen,  and  sailed  back  in  after  years  and 
was  wrecked  on  that  same  rock.  We  have  read  in  a  good  old 
Book  of  men  falling  into  the  pit  which  they  dug  for  the  feet 
of  others.  We  have  heard  the  proverb  that  "Curses,  like 
chickens,  come  home  to  roost."  Poems  and  proverbs  grow  out 
of  long  observation,  and  a  consensus  of  experience. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  heard  of  the  rich,  benevolent 
woman  who  founded  a  home  for  worthy  old  women,  and 
through  the  subsequent  loss  of  her  property  found  a  home 
there.     Had  she  sought  an  investment  to  provide  for  the  vicis- 


THE    BOY    WITH    THE    BASKET  247 

situdes  of  her  own  life  she  could  not  have  found  a  better  one. 
And  examples  such  as  this  are  not  few  to  illustrate  God's 
method  of  blessing  him  who  makes  himself  a  blessing. 

God  makes  goodness  almost  dangerously  profitable.  That 
the  bread  cast  on  the  waters  will  come  back  is  as  certain  as  is 
consistent  with  true  benevolence  in  giving  it. 

It  is  well  that  a  prompt  return  with  compound  interest  does 
not  always  attend  one's  earthly  giving,  else  would  generosity 
become  the  world's  most  chronic  vice,  and  the  inevitable  symp- 
tom of  covetousness.  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive,  and  there  is  no  real  giving  that  gives  to  receive  again. 
So  he  never  gives  who  gives  only  what  he  possesses — he  must 
give  himself. 

Not:   what   we    give,   but   what   we    share, 
For  the  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare. 

But  as  one  candle  lights  another  and  finds  its  own  light 
undimmed,  so  may  one  soul  impart  to  another  soul,  love,  gen- 
tleness, kindness,  instruction,  encouragement,  comfort — every 
spiritual  gift,  and  be  the  richer  for  the  giving.  "There  is  that 
scattereth,  and  yet  increaseth;  there  is  that  withholdeth  more 
than  is  meet,  and  it  tendeth  to  poverty." 

The  boy  with  the  basket  might  have  hidden  and  eaten  his 
five  crackers  and  two  dried  fish  alone.  So  would  he  have 
starved  his  soul  and  his  fellowmen's  bodies.  But  he  made  him- 
self immortal,  and  heaped  his  own  basket  to  overflowing  by 
an  act  of  unsparing  generosity  in  the  Lord's  ser\qce. 

Miracles  must  not  tend  to  wastefulness.  The  miraculous  is 
not  to  be  depended  upon  as  a  constant  source  of  supply. 
To-day  it  avails— thank  God  and  make  the  most  of  it.  But 
for  to-morrow  we  must  have  recourse  to  the  ordinary  channels 
of  provision.  Let  down  your  nets,  and  start  the  mill  and  fire 
up  the  oven;  for  God  will  see  you  starve  ere  he  makes  you  a 
pauper  by  miracle. 

God  uses  the  miraculous  sparingly,  and  then  with  admoni- 
tions of  caution.  It  were  easy  for  the  supernatural  to  prove 
a  snare  to  us,  teaching  us  to  disregard  the  divine  sequence  of 
cause  and  effect,  and  encouraging  us  in  idleness  and  improvi- 


248  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

dence.  It  is  not  miracles  we  need  so  much  as  the  utilization  of 
the  good  \vc  now  despise  because  it  is  in  fragments.  The  frag- 
ments are  capable  of  filling  to  overflowing  all  the  baskets 
which  we  can  provide.  Fragments  of  knowledge — gather 
them  up  into  a  storehouse  of  truth,  bringing  out  of  this  treas- 
ure things  new  and  old.  Fragments  of  time — do  not  waste 
them;  they  are  little  fractions  of  eternity.  Fragments  of  joy. 
never  quite  enough  to  satisfy  the  longings  of  the  heart  and 
sometimes  mocking  the  perfect  bliss  for  which  we  sigli — 
gather  them  up  and  make  of  them,  a  mosaic  of  happiness  for 
your  own  life  and  the  lives  of  others.  Fragments  of  Scripture 
verses  learned  in  childhood  from  sainted  parents,  or  gathered 
in  maturer  years  of  reading  and  meditation — gather  them  up. 
and  make  them  a  strength  and  a  solace  in  the  hours  when  you 
shall  need  a  word  from  on  high  to  hold  fast  your  soul  in  temp- 
tation or  affliction.  Fragments  of  opportunity — no  chance 
often  to  follow  up  the  good  we  do,  and  see  what  comes  of  it; 
opportunity  only  for  a  passing  word,  a  kindness  bestowed  b^- 
the  way,  and  the  two  souls  part ;  one  day  shall  all  these  frag- 
ments of  kindness  be  gathered  into  one  record  of  goodness 
complete,  and  the  Master  himself  shall  say,  'T  was  an  hun- 
gered, and  ye  gave  me  meat;  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink;  I 
was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me; 
I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came 
unto  me."  Then  shall  the  righteous,  conscious  of  their  frag- 
mentary goodness,  and  self-reproachful  because  it  was  incom- 
plete, learn  the  truth  that  vmifies  all  righteous  effort  into  com- 
pleteness into  the  ministry^  of  love  in  his  name. 

Out  of  fragments  of  old  pottery  wise  men  have  recon- 
structed past  civilizations.  Out  of  the  fragments  of  the  broken 
Moabite  stone  have  come  down  through  nearly  thirty  cen- 
turies confirmations  of  the  truth  of  the  Bible.  By  means  of 
fragments  of  rock  the  story  of  the  formation  of  the  earth's 
crust  is  told  to  us.  By  little  fragments  of  clothing,  torn  off 
and  stuck  upon  the  bushes  by  the  captives,  the  settlers  of  earlv 
days  followed  the  Indians  and  rescued  their  loved  ones  from 
the  tomahawk  and  the  stake.     Frafrrnents?*    Our  art  ealleries 


THE    BOY    WITH    THE    BASKET 


249 


abound  in  fragments,  great  even  in  their  ruins,  of  what  were 
once  gems  of  art,  and  even  now  reveal  the  grace  and  power 
of  the  sculptor  in  their  battered  lines,  and  preserve  and  trans- 
mit the  skill  that  thus  we  make  our  own.  Great  is  the  good 
that  is  preserved  to  the  world  in  fragments,  and  blessed  are 
those  who  gather  them  up  and  make  the  most  of  them. 


THE    TOWER    OP    ANTONIO,    JERUSALEM 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE  CRISIS  OF  THE  CHRIST 

We  come  now  to  the  close  of  the  second  year  of  the  minis- 
try of  Jesus.  As  before,  the  dividing  event  is  the  passover. 
Jesus  did  not  attend  this  passover,  but  the  crowds  going  to  it 
and  eating  of  the  bread  in  the  wilderness  forced  upon  him  a 
crisis.  He  had  now  to  face  the  question  whether  he  would 
yield  to  the  popular  demand,  and  become  a  king.  All  the 
three-fold  temptations  in  the  wilderness  came  back  with 
greater  power,  for  the  tempter  now  was  an  enthusiastic  multi- 
tude of  Jesus'  own  countrymen  urging  him  to  head  a  popular 
uprising  for  the  restoration  of  their  hereditary  rights  as  a 
nation.  Why  should  he  not  make  bread  from  stones,  when 
they  were  so  hungry,  so  poor,  so  ground  down  by  con- 
tinuous oppression?  Why  should  he  not  cast  himself  down 
from  a  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  and  with  wrath  as  righteous 
as  when  he  had  driven  out  the  money-changers,  drive  awav 
the  Roman  guard  that  kept  the  Tower  of  Antonia,  almost 
within  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  temple?  Why  should  he  not 
have  a  kingdom  when  the  people,  his  own  people,  the  lost, 
sheared,  scattered,  shepherdless  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel, 
were  ruled  only  to  be  plundered,  persecuted,  and  misgoverned? 

A  recent  book  is  entitled  "The  Crisis  of  the  Christ."  It 
treats  of  seven  incidents  in  the  life  of  Jesus  among  which  this  is 
not  included.  But  this  was  the  real  crisis  of  the  Christ.  Jesus 
had  endeavored  to  avert  it.  He  had  wrought  miracles  sparingly, 
reluctantly,  and  when  pressed  by  the  urgent  demands  of  need. 
Not  after  the  first  time  did  he  do  a  miehty  work  merely  to 
add  to  the  joy  of  life;  he  had  more  than  he  could  do  to  hush 
the  cry  of  pain.  He  had  done  this  quietly;  had  taken  those 
whom  he  had  healed  apart;  had  charged  them  not  to  tell  of  it. 

250 


THE    CRISIS    OF    THE    CHRIST  251 

But  his  fame  had  spread  till  now  the  multitude  were  vociferous 
in  their  demands  that  he  should  be  king. 

Some  things  had  been  settled  already.  Jesus  was  the 
Messiah.  But  what  kind  of  a  Messiah  was  he  to  be?  Within 
the  limits  of  his  Messianic  mission  some  liberty  of  choice  was 
permitted  him.  The  people  evidently  were  persuaded  of  the 
truth  of  his  Messianic  character:  thus  far  they  were  led  of 
God:  flesh  and  blood  had  not  revealed  it  unto  them,  but  their 
Father  in  heaven.  Could  not  Jesus  trust  the  people  also  to 
determine  the  manner  of  his  Messianic  work?  Should  he 
accept  their  interpretation  of  his  office  as  the  w'ill  of  God? 

And,  again,  why  not?  If  the  world,  being  foolish,  must  have 
kings,  why  not  be  one  of  them?  There  was  no  reason  why  a 
king  should  not  also  be  a  good  man.  Good  kings  had  been; 
why  not  be  one  of  them?  Tf  not,  there  remained  the  sad 
alternative — the  people  would  forsake  him;  the  opposition  of 
scribes  and  priests  would  grow  more  bitter;  for  him  there 
would  be  humiliation  and  defeat.  What  would  happen  he 
knew  only  too  well;  it  had  just  happened  to  John.  Why  not 
escape  all  this,  and  use  his  opportunities  while  he  had  them? 

These  were  the  questions  that  crowded  upon  Jesus  that  even- 
ing after  he  had  sent  the  multitude  away.  They  would  not  go 
far;  bread  was  too  abundant.  They  would  return.  Before  he 
met  them  again,  Jesus  must  face  and  settle  the  question  of  his 
life. 

Alone,  on  the  mountain  top  lie  wrestled  over  his  life  decis- 
ion. On  the  one  side  was  the  eager  admiring,  needy  multi- 
tude; on  the  other  was  conscience.  On  one  side  were  the 
expectations  of  his  friends;  on  the  other  was  the  pleasure  of 
his  Father.  On  the  one  side  was  the  kingdom;  on  the  other 
the  cross.  Alone  in  the  dark  and  storm,  the  Christ  met  his 
crisis. 

But  while  he  faced  the  storm  within,  his  disciples  were  bat- 
tling with  the  wind  that  had  swept  down  upon  the  lake.  They 
were  ''toiling  in  rowing,  for  the  wind  was  contrary."  It  was 
after  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  he  came  to  them,  and 
brought  cheer  and  assurance,  and  with  his  coming  came  the 
dawn  and  the  end  of  the  storm. 


252  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

The  scene  was  a  picture  of  the  tragedy  of  Hfe.  Humanitv 
was  in  that  boat,  tossed  by  passion  and  the  storms  of  hfe. 
Dark  were  the  Avaves  beneath;  dark  the  heavens  where  God 
remained  silent.  But  God  had  not  remained  apart  on  a  moun- 
tain top.  thinking-  of  his  kingdom,  and  exulting  in  the  thought- 
less praise  of  men;  God  had  come  to  men  in  the  midst  of  the 
storm,  to  bring  calm  and  light  to  their  souls.  Who  knows  but 
the  vision  of  the  disciples  in  the  boat  below,  visible  to  the  Mas- 
ter while  he  prayed,  may  have  strengthened  his  purpose  to 
cast  himself  upon  the  wave,  to  enter  for  better  or  for  worse  the 
boat  with  humanity,  and,  though  the  sea  of  fickle  favor  rose 
in  a  mighty  wave  to  overthrow  him,  to  bring,  safe  to  its 
haven. 

Humanity  with  all   its   fears. 

With  all  it?  hopes  for  coming  years? 

And  what  a  comfort  to  the  toiling  millions  at  the  oars, 
straining  their  eyes  and  seeing  only  blackness,  to  know.  that, 
somewhere,  out  of  sight,  but  not  too  far  away  to  help.  Jesus 
sees  it  all! 

The  crowd  met  Jesus  at  the  landing;  they  w^ere  ready  for 
breakfast.  They  wondered  too,  how  he  had  gotten  across, 
wdiile  they  had  to  walk  around.  Jesus  met  them  sternly.  He 
would  not  cast  himself  down  from  any  pinnacles  for  their  curi- 
ous conjectures.  "Ye  seek  me,  because  ye  ate  of  the  loaves 
and  are  filled,"  said  he.  They  w-ere  interested  and  asked, 
"What  must  we  do  to  work  the  work  of  God?" 

But  when  Jesus  told  them  to  believe  in  him,  they  returned 
to  the  theme  of  the  loaves,  and,  none  too  delicately,  reminded 
him  that  their  fathers  had  eaten  manna  in  the  wilderness.  The 
miracles  of  ]\Ioses  were  working  mischief  a  dozen  centuries 
after  ]\Ioses'  death. 

Then  Jesus  told  them  as  he  had  told  Satan,  that  men  do  not 
live  bv  bread  alone,  and  that  he  had  come  from  heaven  to  feed 
men  w-ith  spiritual  bread.  When  he  said  these  thing-s  to  them, 
the  crowd  at  once  began  to  murmur,  and  they  said:  "Is  not 
this  Jesus,  the  son  of  Joseph,  wdiose  father  and  mother  we 
know?  how  is  it  then  that  he  sayeth,  I  came  down  from 
heaven?" 


THE    CRISIS    OF    THE    CHRIST 


253 


The  crowd  went  awav  and  got  breakfast  as  best  it  could, 
and  did  not  return  again.  The  people,  finding  that  there  was 
no  more  free  board  to  be  had  in  Capernaum,  started  on  again  to 
Jerusalem,  complaining  as  they  went.  So  closed  the  second 
year  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus.  Jesus  had  met  his  crisis.  He 
would  not  make  bread  from  stones,  nor  forsake  the  world  for  a 


CHRIST     AND    PFTER — (sCHWARTZ") 

kingdom.  The  result  was  as  he  expected.  "From  that  time, 
many  of  his  disciples  went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with  him." 
The  break  between  Jesus  and  the  unfed  crowd  was  accent- 
uated by  a  break  between  him  and  the  leaders.  These,  indeed, 
had  for  some  time  been  cynical,  and  at  times  hostile.   They  had 


254  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

complained  of  his  violation  of  the  Sabbath,  of  his  being  "a 
gluttonous  man  and  a  wine-bibber,"  and  of  his  claiming  power 
to  forgive  sins.  On  the  day  of  his  return  to  Capernaum  after 
the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand,  he  talked  to  the  multitude  on 
the  shore,  and  later  preached  his  gospel  in  the  synagogue. 
There,  apparently,  he  was  invited  to  dine  with  a  Pharisee.  So 
Jesus,  that  day,  instead  of  feeding  others,  was  himself  fed. 
We  do  not  know  who  the  Pharisee  was,  or  how  he  came  to 
give  the  invitation,  but  one  thing  is  evident,  it  was  given  in 
no  spirit  of  genuine  hospitality.  As  soon  as  Jesus  was  seated 
a  pointed  criticism  was  made  that  he  ate  with  unwashed  hands. 
Then  Jesus  turned  upon  the  Pharisees,  and  accused  them  of 
caring  so  much  for  form  and  display  that  they  had  neglected 
the  spirit  of  religion,  and  had  become  hypocrites.  "The  things 
without,  do  not  defile,"  he  said,  "but  the  evil  thoughts  within." 

It  was  an  unwelcome  truth  and  unkindly  received.  Invita- 
tions to  dine  with  Pharisees  in  Capernaum  came  rarely  to 
Jesus  after  that;  and  when  he  ate  with  Matthew  and  his  com- 
pany, there  was  a  new  accusation,  that  he  was  the  friend  of 
publicans  and  sinners.  Alas,  from  that  time  he  had  few  other 
friends  than  these. 

We  must  not  assume,  because  it  seems  plain  enough  to  us 
that  the  things  from  wdthin  defile  rather  than  those  without, 
that  Jesus  expected  the  truth  to  be  favorably  received.  He 
deliberately  attacked  the  traditions  of  the  Pharisees,  who 
counted  ceremonial  washing  so  important  that  to  neglect  it 
was  to  be  guilty  of  gross  ceremonial  defilement.  The  word 
wash,  as  used  in  the  passage,  means  to  wash  vigorously,  or 
with  the  fist  of  one  hand  scrubbing  the  other.  It  was  held, 
too,  that  the  water  must  trickle  back  to  the  wrist.  It  is  by  no 
means  certain  that  washing  in  Christ's  day  was  all  of  this  hon- 
est straightforward  sort.  The  Jews  of  Jerusalem  still  require 
ceremonial  washing  before  entering  their  synagogues  for  wor- 
ship. I  inspected  the  provision  for  ablutions  at  the  door  of  one 
of  their  largest  synagogues  there.  It  is  a  tiny  faucet,  opened 
by  being  struck  from  below  by  the  finger,  and  in  such  sort  that 
continuous  pressure  for  the  sake  of  the  running  of  a  stream  is 


THE    CRISIS    OF    THE    CHRIST 


255 


meant  to  be  impossible.  The  finger  presses  up  the  valve  and 
is  withdrawn  a  little  to  receive  the  water,  which  barely  moist- 
ens the  tip  of  the  thumb  and  finger.  This  stands  for  a  bath, 
ceremonially. 

Even  such  a  symbol  might  do  good  if  men  were  to  say,  "It 
is  but  a  symbol,  and  has  value  only  as  it  typifies  purity  of  soul," 
but  the  Jews  of  Christ's  time  exalted  the  symbol  and  forgot 
its  meaning,  substituting  their  cleanliness  of  body,  which  may 
or  may  not  have  been  thorough,  for  purity  of  heart.  Jesus 
attacked  this  tradition  both  by  example  and  precept,  ignoring 
the  form,  visibly  and  publicly  defying  it,  that  he  might  expose 
the  shame  beneath  it. 

From  this,  Jesus  went  on  to  attack  the  tradition  concern- 
ing Corban.  A  man  who  intended  to  make  a  gift  to  God 
might  see  his  parents  in  dire  need,  but  say,  "Corban,"  that  is, 
"I  have  dedicated  this  property  to  God."  This  would  not 
imply  that  he  had  already  parted  with  it,  or  intended  to  do  so 
at  once;  he  might  keep  it  indefinitely,  but  it  was  sacred  from 
all  demands  for  relief  of  suffering,  even  the  suffering  of  his 
parents. 

To  Jesus  no  tradition  that  professed  to  honor  God  had 
sacredness  as  against  the  needs  of  men.  God's  glory  is  in  the 
welfare  of  his  children.  The  commandments  of  God  are  rea- 
sonable and  are  visibly  related  to  human  welfare.  To  please 
God  by  the  neglect  of  parents,  was  to  Jesus  blasphemy.  So 
he  attacked  the  tradition,  saying: 

"Thus  have  ye  made  the  commandment  of  God  of  none 
effect  by  your  tradition.  Ye  hypocrites,  well  did  Esaias 
prophesy  of  you,  saying',  This  people  draweth  nigh  unto  me 
with  their  mouth,  and  honoureth  me  with  their  lips;  but  their 
heart  is  far  from  me.  But  in  vain  do  they  worship  me,  teach- 
ing for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men"  (Matt.  15:  6-9). 

This  touched  the  whole  question  of  ceremonial  righteous- 
ness at  its  tenderest  point.  It  was  just  in  those  matters  of 
tradition  that  the  Pharisees  prided  themselves  that  they  were 
righteous.  Between  them  and  Jesus  henceforth  there  could 
be  no  svmpathy.  They  knew  where  he  stood,  and  they  knew 
his  opinion  of  them. 


256 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


Tlie  danger  of  l)cing  taken  b}-  force  and  made  a  king  was 
now  well  past.  The  Pharisees,  certainly,  wanted  no  king  who 
would  thus  w^ound  their  vanity;  and  as  for  the  multitudes 
whom  he  fed  yesterday,  tliey  were  on  their  way  toward  Jerusa- 
lem, grumbling  because  they  had  no  cakes  and  ale  for  that 
day. 

Thus  did  Jesus  meet  his  life's  crisis.  But  it  cost  him  all 
that  men  hold  dear,  save  fidelity  to  duty. 


THE     MAN     OF    SOKKOWS — (jEAN     UEKAUD) 


CHAPTER  XXII 


THE    UNCONCEALABLE    CHRIST 

Jesus  now  began  the  third  and  last  year  of  his  ministry  by 
withdrawing  from  Galilee  into  the  borders  of  Tyre  and  Sidon. 
The  reasons  for  his  withdrawal  are  apparent  in  the  crisis  at 
Capernaum,  the  disappointment  of  the  people  in  the  discourse 
about  the  Bread  of  life,  and  his  break  with  the  Pharisees  in 
the  matter  of  eating  with  unwashed  hands.  To  escape  the 
crowd,  gospel-hardened  and  unspiritual,  and  from  the  Phari- 
sees, always  cold  and  critical  and  now  openly  hostile,  was  his 
purpose. 

We  do  not  know  just  where  Jesus  w^ent;  it  is  unlikely  that 
he  visited  large  cities.  "He  entered  into  a  house  and  w-ould 
have  no  man  know  he  was  there,  but  he  could  not  be  hid."  A 
Gentile  woman  sought  his  help  for  her  little  daughter.  Jesus 
was  unwilling  to  work  more  miracles.  Had  he  not  seen  the 
inevitable  mischief  resulting  from  them?  His  miracles  had 
expatriated  him.  He  had  come  here  to  escape  from  the  mob 
that  ever  himg  upon  the  miracle.  But  his  heart  was  touched 
with  the  mother's  need.    He  would  test  her  faith. 

"It  is  not  meet  to  take  the  children's  bread  and  cast  it  to  the 
dogs."  he  said. 

It  was  a  harsh  saying,  Pharisaical  and  cold  in  form;  we  can- 
not believe  that  it  disclosed  his  heart. 

But  the  mother  was  too  intent  on  the  daughter's  healing  to 
resent  the  insult.  Quick  was  her  wit,  and  ready  her  reply.  It 
was  onlv  a  crumb  that  she  wanted,  one  that,  falling  from  the 
plate  of  the  child  at  the  table,  might  be  eaten  even  by  the  dog 
beneath  it.  Again  the  Lord  marvelled  at  faith  such  as  he  had 
not  found  in  Israel.  "O  woman,"  he  exclaimed,  "Great  is  thy 
faith.     Be  it  unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt!" 

257 


258  JF:SUS    of    NAZARETH 

The  liealing  of  the  little  i^irl  probably  shortened  the  visit  of 
Jesus  to  the  region  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  He  had  come  to 
escape  publicity,  but  it  was  thrust  upon  him.  We  may  beliexe 
that  he  healed  the  diseases  of  those  who  came  to  him,  taught 
some  needed  lesson  to  the  crowd  that  gathered  round,  and 
then  moved  on  seeking  some  cjuiet  place.     He  did  not  find  it. 

Jesus  did  not  immediately  return  to  Capernaum,  but,  turn- 
ing eastward  among  the  foothills  south  of  the  Lebanon  moun- 
tains, crossed  the  Jordan  above  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  came 
to  Decapolis,  wdiere  he  had  once  made  a  brief  visit  and  had 
been  rejected  because  of  the  loss  of  the  swine  (Matt.  28:34; 
Mark  5:  1-20;  Luke  8:26-39).  Here  again  he  did  not  escape 
the  crowd.  A  deaf  man  came  to  him;  Jesus  took  him  aside  and 
healed  him  (Mark  7:  32-37),  and  charged  the  man  not  to  tell 
of  liis  healing:  but  the  loosed  tongue  refused  to  be  silent,  and 
the  fame  of  Jesus  spread  throughout  the  region.  Then  the 
multitude  came  again,  bringing  their  sick,  and  Jesus  repeated 
the  experiences  which  had  preceded  his  departure  from  the 
region  of  the  lake  (]\Litt.  15:  29-3S;  Mark  8:  1-9),  even  to  the 
feeding  of  four  thousand  improvident  and  hungry  people. 

In  this  same  summer,  and  not  long  after  this  event,  Jesus 
healed  a  blind  man  at  Bethsaida  (Mark  8:  22-26),  charging 
him,  as  w^as  his  custom,  to  tell  no  man.  But  these  admoni- 
tions were  unavailing.  The  news  spread.  Jesus  now  recrossed 
the  lake  to  "the  borders  of  Magdala"  (^latt.  15:  39)  "into  the 
parts  of  Dalmanutha"  (Aiark  8:  10).  This  was  a  region  north 
of  the  city  of  Tiberias  and  south  of  Capernaum.  We  are  not 
sure  whether  he  returned  to  Capernaum,  but  he  was  met  by 
the  Pharisees  with  a  new  demand  for  a  sign  (Matt.  16:  1-4; 
Mark  8:  11-13),  and  so  the  clamor  for  the  miraculous  grew  in 
proportion  as  it  was  fed. 

It  is  not  to  be  w^ondered  at  that  these  people  demanded  a 
sign.  In  the  thought  of  many  good  people  to-day  the 
programme  of  Christ  was  essentially  this:  An  advent  into  the 
world,  with  a  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  God;  the  working  of 
miracles  to  establish  that  claim;  the  condemnation  of  men 
because  they  did  not  accept  the  testimony  of  the  miracles  in 
their  witness  to  the  divine  Sonship  of  Jesus. 


THE    UNCONCEALABLK   CHRIST 


259 


The  real  programme  of  Jesus  was  very  different.  He  never 
referred  in  any  recorded  i)assage  to  his  miraculous  birth;  he 
was  late  in  making  any  claim  of  his  divine  Sonship;  he  was 
reluctant  to  work  miracles;  he  went  about  doing  good,  teach- 
ing, helping,  forgiving,  inspiring  men,  and  saying,  "Ye  shall 
know  the  truth  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  Mighty 
works  had  their  evidential  value,  but  they  rarely  convinced 
men.  It  is  well  for  us  to  remember  this  lest  we  suppose  our- 
selves at  a  serious  disadvantage  in  our  remoteness  from  the 
actual  work  of  Jesus.     Jesus  himself  would  not  have  counted 


THE    CANAANITISH    WOMAN — (pALMA    VECCUIO,    I475-I528J 


it  so.  We  have  the  truth,  which  he  counted  the  main  thing, 
and  we  have  the  witness  of  nineteen  centuries  of  enlighten- 
ment, purity  and  progress  to  the  divine  authority  of  the 
gospel.  This  is  a  far  greater  work  than  the  first  disciples  saw, 
and  is  trustworthy. 

We  should  not,  then,  follow  the  mistake  of  other  days  and 
seek  for  an  evidence  of  Christianity  in  signs  and  wonders.  The 
true  sign  of  the  gospel  is  a  changed  life;  the  real  wonder  is 
that  of  the  life  of  Christ  reproduced  in  the  lives  of  sinful  men. 


26o  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

Neither  the  darkened  cabinet  of  the  spirituaHst  mc(Hum  with 
wonders  that  happen  after  the  Hghts  are  out,  nor  the  widely 
heralded  achievement  of  the  "healer"  for  revenue  only,  bear 
the  true  mark  of  the  work  of  Christ.  These  are  the  works 
of  those  whose  constituency  seeks  for  a  sign. 

Jesus  now  took  occasion  to  warn  his  disciples  against  the 
Pharisees  (Matt.  i6:  5-12;  ]\Iark  8:  14-21).  To  these  men  the 
disciples  naturally  looked  up.  But  Jesus  let  them  understand 
that  the  difference  between  himself  and  these  teachers  was 
fundamental.  It  was  a  strange  lesson  to  the  disciples,  but  thev 
learned  it  at  last,  to  their  sorrow.  It  is  interesting  to  find  that 
even  in  his  own  lifetime,  and  during  the  period  of  his  brief 
ministry,  the  fame  of  Jesus  had  spread  beyond  the  narrow 
limits  of  his  own  country.  His  work  had  been  a  restricted 
work,  national  and  almost  local  in  its  character,  yet  it  had 
grown  to  such  dimensions  that  in  no  part  of  his  own  little  land 
was  he  unknown,  and  his  experience  proved  that  he  had  already 
been  talked  about,  and  to  some  extent  was  trusted,  in  some 
if  not  all  the  regions  adjacent  to  his  own  Palestine. 

"He  could  not  be  hid."  No  character  in  history  had  a  better 
chance  of  concealment.  He  was  born  at  a  time  when  the 
consolidation  of  national  life  into  one  power  in  Rome  turned 
all  eyes  toward  that  capital,  and  made  the  rest  of  the  world 
insignificant.  He  was  born  in  a  remote  province,  far  from  the 
great  centers  of  population  and  of  power.  Only  an  occasional 
political  outbreak  brought  any  one  in  Palestine  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  Rome.  Palestine  was  all  but  ignored  in  the  empire  of 
which  it  formed  a  part.  The  country  in  which  Christ  was 
born,  with  its  whole  population,  was  counted  insignificant  in 
the  great  Roman  world.  Hardly  another  GaliUean  of  that 
generation  is  known  to  us.  even  by  name,  save  as  his  name  is 
associated  with  that  of  Jesus.  He  was  nurtured  and  made  his 
home  in  a  village  until  that  time  unknown  in  literature,  and 
which,  but  for  himself,  would  have  disappeared  from  human 
knowledge,  and  in  a  province  of  his  own  small  country  which 
had  always  been  treated  with  contempt.  "Search,  and  see  that 
out  of  GaJilce  ariseth  no  prophet"  (John  7:  ^2).  was  the  word 


THE    UNCONCEALABLTi   CHRIST  261 

of  a  member  of  the  Sanhcdrin.  His  first  disciples,  who  were 
GaHh-eans,  asked  wonderingiy,  "Can  any  good  thing  come  out 
of  Nazareth?"  His  country  was  ignored  in  the  world  of  that 
age;  his  province  was  ignored  in  the  country  of  which  it  was 
a  part;  his  village  was  ignored  in  the  province  in  which  it  was 
located;  and  he  was  ignored  in  his  own  village. 

Some  men.  by  their  political  power,  succeeded  in  impressing 
that  age  and  in  leaving  their  mark  upon  the  generations  fol- 
lowing.    So  Augustus  and  Tiberius  and  Nero  became  known 
to  fame   or  to  infamy;  but  Jesus  turned  his  back  upon  this 
opportunity  of  achieving  popularity.     "My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world."  said  he.     He  declined  a  place  among  the  monarchs 
of  the  earth.     Again,  as  leader  of  an  army,  there  was  oppor- 
tunity for  a  man  to  make  himself  famous,  and  we  know^  the 
names  of    generals  of    those  days— Antony,   Pompey.   Otho, 
Vitellius,  Titus  and  the  rest,  some  of  whom  rose  from  military 
to  civil  fame.    But  none  of  these  did  Jesus  imitate;  and  though 
ten  thousand  legions  of  angels  might  have  been  his,  he  passed 
through  life  unattended    save    by  a  few  practically  unarmed 
disciples.     It  was  an  age  of  thought  and  literature,  as  well  as 
of  military  glorv  and  civic  power,  and  w^e  know  the  names  of 
writers  of  that  day.     Horace  and  Virgil  and  Ovid,  Livy  and 
Strabo.  Cicero  and  Pliny  were  practically  his  contemporaries. 
We  know  that  Jesus  w^as  not  illiterate,  but  no  written  word 
of  his   survives   to  tell   the   story   of  his  life   or   the   ends   for 
which  he  wrought.     It  w^as  an  age  of  art.  but  his  was  a  nation 
that  never  gave  birth  to  a  Phidias  or  Praxiteles;  and  he  whose 
love  of  beauty  w-as  beyond  compare  left  no  tangible  form  of 
art  to  perpetuate  his  memory,  neither  statue  nor  temple  nor 
likeness  of  himself,  nor  any  creation  of  his  hand  and  skill.     He 
was  an  artisan,  not    an  artist;    a  teacher,  not    an  orator;    a 
revealer  of  Ciod,  not  a  politician;  a  Saviour,  and  not  a  states- 
man.    Jesus   turned    his  back  upon  all    forms  of    labor  and 
industry  by  \vhich  the  men  of  his  generation  were  seeking  to 
achieve  fame.     He  repeatedly  disappointed  his  friends  by  his 
failure  to  use  his  manifest  powers  for  the  purposes  of  publicity. 
His  grace  was  so  utterly  at  variance  with  the  methods  of  the 


262  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

times  that  his  own  brethren  repeatedly  reproached  him  with 
a  probable  desire  to  be  known,  while  he  himself  remained  in 
secret  (John  7:  3.  4).  In  all  these  tliing-s  it  would  seem  as 
though  obscurity  would  have  been  the  logical  result  of  Christ's 
method.  Yet  no  monarch  or  millionaire  of  that  or  any  genera- 
tion, no  soldier  or  stateman  of  that  or  any  other  century,  no 
author  or  artist  or  philosopher  since  the  world  began,  became 
or  is  so  widely  known  as  he. 

"He  could  not  be  hid,"  because  the  divine  nature  within 
him  shone  forth  through  the  humanity  that  enshrined  it.  A 
light  such  as  his  could  not  be  hidden  under  a  bushel.  The  sun 
could  not  be  shut  in  a  closet,  neither  could  the  life  of  God, 
which  he  manifested,  be  obscured  by  the  conditions  of  his 
humanity. 

Whatever  theology  we  have,  or  whether  we  have  any,  about 
the  person  of  Christ,  we  must  never  forget  that  Jesus  Christ 
was  avowedly  and  honestly  human,  but  we  must  not  fail  to 
remember  that  through  this  human  life  there  shone  in  its  ful- 
ness and  majesty  the  essence  of  the  divine  nature.  He  was 
the  Word  made  flesh;  actual,  honest,  unfeigned  flesh,  but  still 
the  Word  made  flesh.  Literature  has  many  a  romantic  story 
of  the  child  of  royal  birth,  brought  up  in  obscure  surroundings, 
and  manifesting  when  he  came  to  years  the  dignity  of  regal 
birth.  So  Cyrus,  among  the  shepherds,  exhibited  the  daring 
and  dignity  which  soon  marked  him  as  a  prince.  So  Alfred, 
hiding  in  the  cowherd's  hut,  was  still  a  king.  But  literature 
has  no  story  more  romantic,  more  beautiful,  more  inherently 
truthful,  than  that  related  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  was  bom 
among  men  and  lived  the  life  of  a  carpenter,  unobtrusively  and 
without  self-advertisement,  until  men  beheld  in  him  the  glory 
of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  the  Father,  full  of  truth  and  grace. 

And  Jesus  could  not  be  hid  because  humanity's  need  was 
sore,  and  he  alone  could  meet  it.  He  came  to  seek  and  to  save 
the  lost,  and  when  he  came,  he  found  the  lost  blindly  seeking 
him.  The  inarticulate  cry  of  the  suffering,  the  despairing 
moan  of  the  outcast,  the  heart-broken  sob  of  the  penitent,  all 
these  he  interpreted  as  addressed  to  himself,  and  he  could  not 
remain  in  hiding  where  the  need  for  him  was  so  great. 


THE    UNCONCEALABLE   CHRIST  263 

xA.nd  so,  in  the  gospel  the  account  of  the  beginning  of 
Christ's  ministry  is  followed  by  the  record  of  the  deeds  done 
among  suffering  men,  so  many  and  so  marvelous  that  the  inert 
world  into  which  he  came  was  shaken  from  its  lethargy  enough 
to  wonder  at  his  power,  to  be  convinced  of  his  goodness,  and 
almost  to  accept  his  saving  love. 

Almost,  but  not  quite.  "He  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate; 
was  crucified,  died  and  was  buried."  But  he  could  not  be  hid. 
The  cross,  though  it  brought  him  a  death  of  ignominy,  only 
lifted  him  up  where  all  men  could  see  and  come  unto  him. 
The  grave  could  not  hide  him,  but  became  the  gateway  of 
eternal  life  to  all  who  trust  in  him.  Out  from  the  narrow  con- 
fines of  his  age,  his  nation,  his  ignominious  death  and  his 
indisputable  burial,  pressed  forth  his  new  life  for  all  nations. 

He  cannot  be  hid.  If  all  the  world  should  try  by  unani- 
mous consent  to  forget  him,  it  could  not  succeed.  If  all  the 
Bibles  in  all  the  ends  of  the  world  were  burned,  it  would  not 
obliterate  his  memory.  If  all  the  churches  in  all  Christian  lands 
were  destroyed,  it  would  not  cause  him  to  be  forgotten.  It 
would  be  perfectly  safe  to  predict  that  the  future  will  weed 
from  its  lists  of  names  counted  great,  many  which  the  world 
honors  but  will  not  care  to  remember,  and  many  more,  which 
spite  of  industrious  effort  to  remember,  it  must  inevitablv 
forget.  But  his  name  will  be  remembered  and  loved  and 
honored,  so  long  as  there  is  intelligence  and  faith  and  moral 
and  spiritual  life  among  men. 

He  cannot  be  hid  because  his  life  is  resident  in  the  life  of  his 
people,  and  he  is  with  them  according  to  his  promise.  The 
conditions  which  once  shut  in  and  localized  his  life  are  now 
forever  past.  Wherever  there  is  a  Christian  there  is  the  Christ. 
And  when  heaven  and  earth  are  passed  away,  and  all  things 
hidden  are  revealed,  and  all  things  secret  are  made  known, 
then  shall  he  stand  forth  with  a  glory  which  the  brilliancy  of 
heaven  can  only  the  more  perfectly  disclose;  then  he  shall 
appear  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father,  amid  the  praises 
of  heaven  and  the  glories  of  a  redeemed  humanity.  Thus,  to 
all  eternity  shall  he  abide,  the  Unconcealable  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


THE   FEAST   OF   TABERXACLES 

The  summer  passed  and  the  autumn  brought  with  it  one  of 
the  great  annual  festivals  of  the  Jews,  the  feast  of  tabernacles. 
It  was  the  annual  commemoration  of  the  journey  through  the 
wilderness,  which,  from  the  time  of  Nehemiah  had  ])een 
observed  by  dwelling  in  tents  (Neh.  8:  17).  We  have  no  record 
that  Jesus  had  previously  attended  this  feast.  He  had  not 
been  at  the  passover  in  the  spring  preceding,  and  his  policy 
of  retirement  was  confusing  to  his  friends,  as  well  as  to  those 
who  did  not  believe  in  him. 

And  now  we  meet  again  the  brothers  of  Christ,  who  are  still 
unconverted,  and  who  are  disposed  to  be  meddlesome.  There 
were  four  at  least  of  the  brothers,  James.  Joseph,  Simon  and 
Judas  (Mark  6:  3).  and  there  were  two  or  more  sisters  whose 
names  we  do  not  know.  The  Bible  never  calls  them  cousins 
or  relatives,  but  always  brothers,  and  we  have  no  reason  to 
call  them  anything  else.  These  later  became  his  disciples,  but 
at  this  time  they  were  concerned  with  demanding  why  Jesus, 
whom  they  assumed  to  be  desirous  of  advertising  himself, 
preferred  to  remain  in  seclusion.  But  Jesus  gave  them  no 
intimation  of  his  plans. 

There  was  much  gossip  about  Jesus  at  the  feast,  and  many 
wondered  whether  he  would  appear.  The  Pharisees  and  priests 
were  openly  hostile,  the  people  w^ere  divided.  It  was  under- 
stood that  Jesus  was  in  hiding. 

But  while  the  feast  was  at  its  height,  about  the  middle  of 
the  week,  Jesus  appeared,  teaching  openly  in  the  temple.  We 
do  not  know  the  nature  of  his  discourse,  but  we  are  told  that 
the  Jews  who  heard  him  were  astonished  at  his  learning. 
"How  knoweth  this  man  literature?"  they  asked.     To  them. 

264 


THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES 


265 


learning  meant  knowledge  of  the  law,  and  the  place  to  attain 
it  was  in  the  schools  of  the  rabbins.  Jesns  impressed  peaj^jle 
who  heard  him  as  a  man  with  a  liberal  education.  The 
common  people  heard  him  gladly,  but  the  scholars,  as  well, 
wondered  at  his  teaching. 

Jesus  at  once  turned  to  the  miracle  which  even  yet  was  the 
theme  of  much  discussion  in  Jerusalem — the  healing  of  the 
impotent  man  at  Bethsaida.  a  year  and  a  half  before  (John  5: 
1-16).     The  rulers  were  still  plotting  against  him  because  that 


THE    NEW    FNTR.\N"CE    TO    JERUSALEM 
(MADE  OX   THE  OCCASION   OF  THE  VISIT   OF  THE  GERMAN    EMPEROR) 

work  had  been  performed  on  the  Sabbath.  Jesus  at  once 
exposed  the  plot,  and  when  the  people  demanded.  "Who  goeth 
about  to  kill  thee?"  he  proceeded  to  defend  his  act  of  healing 
a  man  on  the  Sabbath.  Tf  a  baby  boy  was  born  on  the  Sabbath 
the  father  caused  him  to  be  circumcised  a  week  later,  notwith- 
standing the  preparation  and  labor  that  accompanied  the  act. 
Tf  it  was  lawful  to  perform  such  an  act  on  the  Sabbath  because 
the  letter  of  the  law  might  seem  to  require  it,  was  it  less  right 
to  heal  a  man.  when  the  whole  intent  and  spirit  of  the  law. 
made  for  men's  welfare,  demanded  his  healing? 


266 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


Not  only  did  the  argument  carry  weight,  but  the  bearing  of 
Jesus,  standing  forth  fearlessly,  and  preaching  thus,  caused 
the  favorable  sentiment  toward  liim  to  gain  ground.  There 
were  many  who  were  ready  to  say  at  once.  "Do  the  rulers 
indeed  know  that  this  is  the  Christ?" 

But  others  objected  that  Jesus  had  given  no  satisfactory 
account  of  himself,  and  that  what  they  knew  of  his  antecedents 
was  not  such  as  they  expected  in  the  Christ.     Jesus  met  this 


TOWER    OF    DAVID    AND    HIPPICUS.    JERUSALEM 

objection,  saying.  "He  that  sent  me  is  true;  I  am  not  come 
of  myself." 

The  people  were  more  and  more  incHned  to  believe  in  him 
as  day  by  day  he  taught  in  the  temple.  And  while  the  priests 
would  gladly  have  arrested  him.  they  could  not  do  so  without 
too  great  a  demonstration.  So  the  feast  passed  by.  and  the 
last  day  came. 

The  feast  of  tabernacles  had  a  notable  ceremony,  that  of  the 
libation  of  water,  brought  by  the  priests  in  glad  procession 
from  the  fountain  of  Siloam  in  the  valley  of  the  Kedron.  As 
the  procession   re-entered  the   temple   court.   Jesus,   standing 


THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES 


267 


in  a  conspicuous  place,  cried  out  to  the  thirsty  thronj^  al)Out 
him,  "If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink:  he 
that  believeth  on  me,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said,  from  within 
him  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water."  The  disciple  was  to  be 
himself  a  fountain,  supplied  from  the  fountain-head  of  grace. 


DAVID    STREET,    JERUSALEM 
(the    flag    shows    the    AMERICAN    CONSULATE) 


What  more  he  said  we  do  not  know,  but  an  increased  number 
of  the  people  w^ere  ready  to  accept  him,  while  others  asked, 
"Shall  Christ  come  out  of  Galilee?" 

The  priests  saw  their  authority  in  danger.  The  people  were 
gradually  being  won  over  to  Jesus.  The  leaders  determined 
to  arrest  him,  and  sent  officers  for  that  purpose.  The  officers 
returned  without  him.  There  had  been  no  resistance,  no 
flight.     But  as  the  officers  were  struggling  through  the  crowd, 


268  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

they  heard  the  words  of  Jesus,  and  were  themselves  convinced 
that  he  was  beyond  their  jurisdiction. 

I  know  of  no  scene  in  the  Hfe  of  Christ  that  is  more  eloquent 
in  its  testimony  of  the  power  of  Jesus  over  men.  I  suppose 
that  those  officers  were  made  of  the  stuff  that  constitutes  good 
constables.  They  were  none  too  tender-hearted;  they  were 
accustomed  to  hard  scenes.  They  knew  that  they  were  not  to 
judge  him,  that  they  were  only  to  arrest  him  and  let  others 
try  him.  But  they  faced  the  priests  who  sent  them — they 
would  not  face  Christ — and  said,  "Never  man  spake  like  this 
man." 

It  was  a  straightforward  judgment,  made  by  unsentimental 
men;  and  the  world  approves  it.  Never  man  spake  so 
tenderly,  so  lovingly,  so  authoritatively.  Never  man  spake 
words  that  live  as  his  words  hve,  in  the  heart  and  aspiration 
of  the  world. 

The  return  of  the  ofificers  resulted  in  a  heated  discussion 
among  the  Pharisees,  Nicodemus  defending  Jesus,  and  others 
opposing  him.  The  result  was  a  division  of  sentiment  that  set 
aside,  for  the  time,  the  plan  to  arrest  him. 

The  evening  of  "the  great  day  of  the  feast"  Jesus  went  to 
the  Mount  of  Olives.  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  suppose  that 
he  went  out  to  spend  the  night  in  prayer.  Undoubtedly  he 
prayed;  but  he  probably  spent  a  while  in  the  cool  of  the  Garden 
of  Gethsemane,  doubtless  already  a  favorite  haunt  with  him, 
and  then  passed  the  night  with  his  friends  in  Bethany. 

The  next  morning  he  was  back  in  the  temple,  and  still 
master  of  the  situation.  But  a  trap  was  set  for  him.  A  woman 
had  been  taken  in  adultery,  and  was  brought  to  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees.  It  afforded  them  a  fine  opportunity  to  ensnare 
Jesus.  The  law  in  Leviticus  (20:  10)  and  Deuteronomy 
(22:  22)  commanded  that  such  should  be  put  to  death.  The 
law  included  the  man  as  well,  but  the  man,  as  too  often  hap- 
pens, had  escaped.  The  law,  of  course,  was  a  dead  letter.  Not 
for  centuries  had  it  been  in  force  in  Jerusalem;  still,  it  was 
suspended  theoretically  because  the  Jews  no  longer  had  the 
power  of  inflicting  a  death   sentence.     Jesus,   they   thought. 


THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES 


269 


would  not  dare  to  say  that  the  law  should  be  enforced,  neither 
would  he  dare  abrogate  it. 

It  was  a  fine  opportunity  the  devil  had  made  ready  to  their 
hand;  and  the  shameless  men  pulled  the  shamefaced  woman 
through  the  crowd  to  Jesus.  Among  them  all  there  was  no 
father  or  brother  or  husband  that  for  daughter's  sake  or  sister's 


INSIDE     THE    JAFFA     GATE 


or  wife's,  raised  band  to  strike  off  the  clutch  of  those  men 
upon  her  as  they  dragged  her  into  Jesus'  presence. 

Jesus  seemed  preoccupied  while  they  were  stating  their 
case.  Stooping  he  wrote  on  the  ground;  it  is  the  only  time 
we  are  told  of  his  writing,  and  what  he  wrote  we  do  not  know. 
They  pressed  him  for  an  answer  to  their  dilemma;  "they  con- 
tinued asking  him."  Then  he  lifted  himself  to  the  height  of 
his  majestic  manhood,  and  they  quailed  before  his  look.     "He 


270 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


that  is  without  sin  among  you.  let  him  first  cast  a  stone  at 
her,"  said  he. 

It  is  impossible  to  add  words  to  the  story  as  it  is  told  in  the 
Scripture:  "And  again  he  stooped  down,  and  with  his  finger 
wrote  on  the  ground.  And  they,  when  they  heard  it.  went 
out  one  by  one,  beginning  from  the  eldest,  even  unto  the  last: 


CHRIST    AND    THE   ADULTERESS — (EMILE    SIGNOL) 


and  Jesus  was  left  alone,  and  the  woman,  where  she  was.  in 
the  midst.  .\nd  Jesus  lifted  up  himself,  and  said  unto  her. 
Woman,  where  are  they?  did  no  man  condemn  thee?  And 
she  said.  No  man.  Lord.  And  Jesus  said.  Neither  do  I  con- 
demn thee:  go  thy  w'ay;  from  henceforth  sin  no  more  (John 
8:8-11). 


THE    FEAST    OF    TABERNACLES 


271 


So  miserably  failed  the  attempt  to  entangle  Jesus  in  the 
trap  of  judgment  against  a  poor  woman. 

That  day  he  continued  his  discussion  in  the  temple.  His 
place  of  teaching  was  "the  treasury,"  or  court  of  the  women, 
called  by  the  latter  name  not  because  it  was  exclusively  or  even 
chiefly  for  women,  but  because  women  were  permitted  to  go 
no  further.  The  Jews  were  loud  in  their  demands  that  Jesus 
should  declare  himself.     Why  did  he  leave  them  to  conjecture? 


<> 

P    j^m  C  4 

1 : 

THE  ADULTERESS — (TITIAN,   I477-I566) 


Who  was  he?  Jesus  told  them  that  the  man  who  willed  to 
do  God's  will  should  know  wheth.er  his  teaching  was  from 
God  or  from  himself. 

Without  declaring  whether  he  was  the  Messiah,  he  made  at 
this  feast  some  most  astounding  claims.  "If  any  man  thirst, 
let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink";  'T  am  the  light  of  the 
world";  'T  am  not  alone";  'T  and  the  Father  that  sent  me"; 
'T  do  always  the  things  that  are  pleasing  to  him";  "Which  of 
vou  convinceth  me  of  sin?";  "If  a  man  keep  my  word,  he  shall 


272  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

never  see  death."  It  is  no  wonder  that  these  words  provoked 
the  Jews  to  wrath.  But  the  words  which  angered  them  most 
were  two  utterances  about  Abraham. 

Jesus  said,  "Ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall 
make  you  free."  They  answered,  "We  are  Abraham's  seed, 
and  were  never  in  bondage  to  any  man."  It  was  an  idle  boast. 
Abraham's  seed  had  often  been  in  bondage.  Who  are  these 
millions  in  Egypt  making  bricks  without  straw?  Abraham's 
seed.  Who  are  these  whose  kings  appear  with  monotonous 
regularity  on  the  Assyrian  monuments,  bearing  each  his  annual 
tribute  to  a  foreign  conqueror?  Abraham's  seed.  Who  are 
these  who  sadly  march  in  chains  to  Babylon,  and  there  hang 
their  harps  on  the  willows  for  three  score  years  and  ten? 
Abraham's  seed.  To  what  nation  has  not  Abraham's  seed  paid 
tribute?  Abraham's  seed  has  bowed  under  the  yoke  of  Egypt, 
Assyria,  Moab,  Syria.  Babylon,  Persia,  Greece,  Rome — to 
answer  is  merely  to  call  the  roll  of  the  great  powers  of 
antiquity.  And  whose  were  these  soldiers  present  to  keep 
order  at  this  very  feast,  these  tax-gatherers  eager  for  their 
money?  These  were  Romans,  attending  to  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham— still  in  bondage  not  only  to  Rome,  but  to  sin,  to  tradi- 
tion, to  empty  form.  From  this  Jesus  would  gladly  deliver 
them  by  his  truth;  but  they  were  ready  to  cry  out  with  their 
fathers  of  old,  "Let  us  alone  that  we  may  serve  the  Egyptians." 
_  The  other  reference  to  Abraham  was,  "Your  father  Abraham 
saw  my  day,  and  was  glad."  He  meant  that  Abraham  saw 
coming  an  era  of  better  things  for  his  descendants,  and  in 
faith  trusted  God  and  waited  for  the  day  whose  harbinger  and 
whose  realization  was  Christ.  But  the  Jews  were  not  content 
with  such  an  interpretation,  and  demanded  to  know  how  he. 
being  still  a  young  man,  certainly  under  fifty,  could  have  seen 
Abraham.  Jesus  was  not  wont  to  give  easy  answers  to  such 
challenges.     "Before  Abraham  was,  I  am,"  said  he. 

This  was  quite  too  much  for  their  patience.  Stones  are 
abundant  in  Palestine,  and  the  Jews  found  a  quantity  and  pre- 
pared to  cast  them  at  him;  but  in  the  confusion  Jesus  escaped, 
and  the  discussions  of  the  feast  came  abruptly  to  an  end. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


THE  VISION  OF  THOSE  WHO  WAKE 

Jesus  returned  from  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  but  not,  appar- 
ently, to  Capernaum.  Instead,  he  withdrew  into  the  region 
of  Csesarea  Philippi.  Here,  alone  with  his  disciples,  he  pre- 
pared them  for  the  coming  tragedy  and  for  independent  labor 
after  he  should  be  taken  from  them.  In  anticipation  of  this 
he  asked  them.  "Who  do  men  say  that  I  am?" 

The  disciples  reported  to  him  the  conjectures  they  had 
heard.  Some  said  he  was  John  the  Baptist;  others,  Elijah;  still 
others  Jeremiah;  and  others,  simply  "one  of  the  prophets." 

The  time  had  come  for  the  Twelve  to  express  their  own 
faith,  and  Jesus  asked  them  pointedly  the  question,  "But  who 
say  ye  that  I  am?" 

It  was  a  great  question.  They  might  have  answered  more 
readily  some  months  earlier.  They  had  listened  eagerly  when 
people  asked  Jesus  who  he  was,  and  he  had  not  answered, 
How  should  they  now  answer  him?  But  their  faith  had  not 
left  them.  There  was  but  one  thing  any  of  them  could  answer, 
and  yet  to  say  it  plainly  when  he  had  not  said  it,  to  commit 
themselves  on  a  point  on  which  he  had  been  so  reticent,  to 
declare  what  he  had  so  steadfastly  refused  to  declare — is  it  any 
wonder  they  did  not  shout  the  answer  in  concert? 

But  Peter  spoke.  Sometimes  he  spoke  too  soon,  but  not 
this  time.     "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 

Then  Jesus  blessed  him.  for  Peter  had  learned  what  Jesus 
wanted  men  to  be  sure  of  without  his  asserting  it.  The  truth 
of  his  divinity  was  not  a  dogma  to  be  forced  upon  men,  but  a 
vital  truth  to  be  spiritually  discerned.  Flesh  and  blood  had 
not  revealed  it  to  Peter.  Jesus  had  not  told  him.  Peter  had 
learned  it   in  the  way  that  Jesus  desired,   and  it   came   as   a 

273 


274  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

gracious  revelation  from  God.  "From  that  time  began  Jesus 
to  shew  unto  his  disciples,  how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusa- 
lem, and  suffer  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief  priests  and 
scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  the  third  day  be  raised  up"  (Matt. 
16-21). 

From  that  time,  when  he  had  just  disclosed  to  them  the 
truth  for  which  they  had  been  yearning!  From  that  time, 
when  their  hopes  began  to  rise  again!  Yet  it  was  the  right 
time  for  them  to  learn  it.  Jesus  had  waited  long  for  the  time 
that  now  had  come. 


MOUNT   TABOR    FROM    THE    PLAIN    OF   ESDRAELON 

When  Peter  rebuked  him,  Jesus  sternly  reproved  Peter  that 
his  faith  should  now  fall  so  far  below  his  recent  confession. 
Jesus  did  not  attempt  to  soften  down  the  truth.  He  told 
them,  on  the  contrary,  that  they,  too,  w^ere  to  take  up  the  cross 
and  follow  him.  But  that  truth  had  in  it  some  comfort.  It 
was  better  for  them  to  share  with  him,  at  all  events,  in  his 
sacrifice,  if  not  in  his  glory.  But  they  did  not  understand  his 
words,  and  they  continued  to  wonder  and  question  to  the  end. 

While  Jesus  and  his  disciples  were  yet  in  the  north  country, 
another  event  occurred,  the  most   significant   thus  far  in  his 


THE   VISION    OF   THOSE    WHO    WAKE 


275 


whole  ministry,  the  transfigiiration.  It  was  in  the  autumn 
preceding  the  spring  of  his  crucifixion — the  autumn,  when 
Palestine  dries  up,  and  the  verdure  of  its  spring  withers;  even 
so  had  the  prospects  and  hopes  of  the  disciples  shriveled  since 
the  passover,  when  multitudes  had  been  thronging  him.  It 
was  the  autumn,  and  ahead  lay  the  winter  of  discontent  and 
desertion  and  betrayal  and  humiliation,  to  be  followed  by  the 
new  life  of  the  resurrection  and  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit. 
It  appears  to  have  been  on  a  Sabbath  evening,  just  a  week 
after   Peter's  confession,   that    the   Lord   ascended   the   moun- 


MOUNT    HERJION 


tain,  probably  Hermon.  in  the  region  of  Ccesarea  Philippi, 
where  we  are  told  that  Peter's  confession  occurred.  On  one 
of  the  spurs  of  this  mountain  they  spent  the  night,  and  in  the 
morning  they  descended  to  find  the  demoniac  boy  in  need  of 
healing,  and  then  took  their  way  back  to  Capernaum,  where 
the  tax-gatherer  was  ready  with  his  demand  for  the  Lord's 
annual  payment.  To  such  conditions  of  human  life  they  were 
soon  to  ascend,  and  from  such  conditions  thev  had  ascended; 
but  while  they  were  upon  the  mountain  they  beheld  the 
transfiguration. 


2^6  JESUS    OF    NAZARKTII 

The  whole  northern  end  of  Palestine  is  doniinated  by  the 
snow-clad  snmmit  of  Mount  Hermon,  its  triple  top  rising 
above  the  intervening  hills  from  every  elevation.  From  its 
slope  the  \'ie\v  is  most  beautiful.  A  sunset  from  one  of  its 
summits,  or  from  any  of  its  slopes  above  the  level  of  the  foot- 
liills,  is  a  sight  of  solemn  grandeur.  The  Lord  and  the  disci- 
ples watched  it  that  Sabbath  evening,  no  doubt,  looking  down 
the  while  upon  the  Sea  of  (/lalilee  and  the  region  of  Christ's 
ministry,  with  mingled  emotions,  as  they  recalled  the  incidents 
that  had  occurred  in  this  and  that  and  the  other  village,  clearlv 
in  sight  from  where  they  sat,  but  growing  dim  in  the  shadows. 
So  far  as  we  know,  the  Lord  never  before  had  climbed  so 
high,  or  looked  down  on  such  a  panorama.  To  the  eastward, 
toward  Damascus  and  beyond,  the  shadow  of  the  mountain 
itself  was  cast,  a  shadow  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
on  earth,  extending  seventy  miles  across  the  desert;  while  to 
the  north  and  south  of  this  darkening  w^edge  cast  bv  the  white 
mountain  top,  the  lingering  light  shone  on  hill-tops  here  and 
there,  and  across  the  level  plain,  till  at  last  the  sun  went  down. 
a  ball  of  fire,  into  the  great  sea  to  the  west,  and  one  by  one  the 
stars  pricked  their  way  through  the  short  Syrian  twilight,  and 
measured  the  depth  of  the  black  vault  of  the  sky. 

Up  from  the  hot,  close  air  of  the  valley  and  the  village.  Jesus 
and  the  three  disciples  had  come  for  a  night  of  rest  and  prayer. 
Not  to  the  very  summit,  surely,  for  there  the  weather  would 
have  been  freezing,  but  high  enough  to  find  the  coolness  and 
breeze  and  to  overlook  the  land  below,  and  low  enough  down 
to  see  the  hoary  summit  rising  in  silent  grandeur  above. 

This,  and  not  the  rounded  top  of  Tabor,  was  the  fit  place 
for  the  transfiguration.  In  the  beauty  of  the  dawn  of  the 
Sunday  niorning  that  followed,  in  the  myster}-  and  gentleness 
of  the  swiftly  formed  and  c|uickl}-  dissii:)atcd  cloud,  there  was 
present  every  natural  condition,  of  sul)limit\-  and  awe  that 
combined  into  a  fitting  back-ground  for  this  event.  T  once 
saw  Pike's  Peak  in  the  glory  of  a  summer  dawn,  while  all  the 
valley  was  dark  below,  and  we,  groping  in  the  gloom,  lifted  our 
eyes  to  the  sun-lit  peak.     I  saw  this,  and  it  thrilled  me;    but 


THE    VISION    OF    THOSE    WHO    WAKE 


277 


morning  after  morning,  at  Nazareth,  at  Tiberias,  and  from  the 
hills  of  Galilee,  I  saw  Mount  Hermon  light  up  before  the  sun 
had  risen  upon  us,  and  I  almost  beheld  the  transfiguration 
repeated  on  its  slope.  When,  in  the  Vatican,  I  saw  that 
greatest   of  the   masterpieces   of  Raphael,    the   human   Christ 


V      . 

1  ■ 

•^iWIMi 

I^^^Bpw 

1          a^JP^^ 

1    M\  iiid 

^       t^I^I 

IPt, 

Iff              ^  vBP^^Hi 

\  -  ..■^: 

■'  "^^ 

^C^  '  '^W'l^-. 

^^^^ 

^ 

>• 

A                                -i. 

J 

fe                       \  :■  f      ' 

1  ' 

r^ 

w*< 

fis    *"   >  P'A  # 

f  ■ 

'   ^  fis^ 

,.  ^^ 

^^'      m-\  \^]   ' 

mm^m 

.'    Ejii/i' 

■  ^'^^^^^  -^ 

%r'        -^^i^^   ^5»- 

( 

^   ^^Vi^ 

s.      - 

. 

THE   TRANSFIGURATION — (RAPHAEL,    I483-IS2O) 


radiant  with  a  divine  and  resident  glory,  a  glory  from  within 
and  above,  I  felt  as  if  T  had  seen  1:»efore  the  incident  which  the 
artist  with  such  power  had  transcribed  upon  his  canvas. 

"And  when  they  were  fully  awake,  thev  beheld  his  glory." 
It  was  no  glorious  dream.     Some  suggestions  of  truth  come 


278  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

to  men  in  dreams  and  visions  of  the  nii;ht.  In  olden  times  men 
thus  received  spiritual  impressions  which  tiiey  counted  of  £^reat 
worth.  L)Ut  these  l)ecame  of  worth  to  the  world  when  those 
who  beheld  the  vision  translated  it  into  the  terms  of  life.  The 
good  that  came  to  individuals  in  dreams,  came  to  the  world 
when  the  dreamers  awoke.  But  the  noblest  visions  are  not 
reserved  for  the  slee])ing  hours  of  earth.  It  is  when  men  are 
awake  that  they  behold  things  in  their  true  perspective.  It 
was  not  the  disciples  who  were  asleep  in  the  valley  who  saw 
the  glorified  Christ,  but  those  awake  in  the  clear  light  of  the 
morning. 

It  is  ever  so.  There  were  many  wise  men  in  the  East ;  there 
had  been  no  lack  there  of  sages  and  of  seers,  and  some  had 
dreamed  great  hopes  for  men;  but  it  was  those  who  were  awake 
who  followed  the  star  to  Bethlehem.  There  were  shepherds 
not  a  few  about  Bethlehem,  dreaming  of  the  times  when  David 
had  lived  there,  and  had  kept  his  sheep  and  had  played  his 
harp,  but  only  those  who  were  awakened  heard  the  music  of  the 
angels;  they  only,  and  not  those  who  calmly  slumbered,  found 
the  Christ-child. 

The  glory  which  Christ  received  from  the  Father  while  on 
earth  was  the  glory  of  attestation.  It  was  the  glory  of  assur- 
ance given  to  men  that  Jesus  was  what  he  declared,  and  that 
his  work  was  the  real  and  true  work  of  God.  There  was  need 
that  this  attestation  should  be  given.  There  was  a  practical 
necessity  that  men  should  know,  in  certain  great  crises  of  his 
career,  that  Jesus  spoke  not  merely  with  the  power  and  wisdom 
of  man,  but  also  with  the  authority  of  God.  There  was  need 
that  the  disciples  should  know  it  now,  when  they  had  staked 
all  on  their  great  confession  of  him,  and  seemed  to  have  lost 
it  in  his  declaration  that  he  was  soon  to  die. 

The  glory  of  Christ  was  the  glory  of  the  Cross.  This  was 
shown  in  all  the  references  to  his  approaching  glory  which 
form  the  climax  of  the  Gospel  of  John.  The  cross  was  Christ's 
way  of  showing  God's  glory  through  self-denial.  ATen  did  not 
know  that  God  could  suffer;  they  had  not  conceived  it  as 
within   the  power  of  God   to  denv  himself.     The\-  had   made 


THE    VISION    OF    THOSE    WHO    WAKE 


279 


in  their  imagination  a  sort  of  glory  which  was  a  celestial  shrine 
of  divine  selfishness,  in  whose  Holy  of  holies  God  lived  in 
serene  self-contemplation.  Christ  showed  us  in  the  cross  that 
sacrifice  is  God's  glory.  He  taught  us  that  by  service  God 
manifests  his  inner  life.  Christ  expelled  from  the  universe  the 
absentee  God  whose  concern  for  men  was  his  rentals.  He 
taught  men  that  this  God,  whom  some  of  them  had  worshiped 
through  fear  and  some  defied  through  bitterness,  and  all 
secretly  distrusted  and  inwardly  hated,  was  the  product  of 
imaginations  perverted  by  centuries  of  idolatry.  He  lived 
among  men  a  life  of  service,  and  prepared  to  offer  up  his  life 
for  those  who  as  yet  did  not  love  him.  But,  lest  men  should 
think  of  his  life  as  the  perfection  of  humanity  alone,  he  went 
up  where  the  sounds  and  sights  of  human  life  were  left  below% 
and  there  his  human  face  grew  radiant  with  the  light  of  heaven, 
and  about  that  wondrous  form  of  him  who  was  born  of  Marv 
there  shone  the  light  of  God's  own  efTulgence.  Then  out  of 
the  cloud  came  the  voice  from  God,  affirming  that  the  good- 
ness and  the  love  of  Christ  were  not  only  his  as  man,  but  were 
also  his  because  these  attributes  and  he  were  of  God;  and  that 
being  God's  they  were  not  for  heaven  alone,  but  for  the  earth 
as  well. 

Christ  was  born  to  a  life  of  obscure  and  humble  duty.  Most 
of  his  years  are  unrecorded.  They  lie  in  the  shadows,  the  un- 
painted  ravines  of  his  career.  They  are  none  the  less  glorious 
for  that,  and  they  encourage  us  when  we  remember  that  the 
obscure  and  unrecognized  is  of  worth,  and  that  God  does  not 
fail  to  notice.    We  cannot  spare  the  unrecorded  years. 

But  it  Avould  shock  our  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things  to 
know  that  Christ's  life  had  been  all  obscurity,  and  his  death 
an  unrelieved  tragedy.  We  should  ask,  "Where  was  God  all 
this  time?"  We  need  the  transfiguration,  the  voice,  the 
declaration  of  God  that  this  was  his  Son;  we  need  these  high- 
lights in  the  picture,  else  the  life  of  Christ  would  have  been 
our  assurance  that  God  is  unheeding,  if  not  malignant.  It 
would  almost  make  us  atheists  to  know^  that  God  exhibited  no 
concern  vv^hen  Jesus  told  his  disciples  first  that  they  were  right 


28o  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

in  believing  him  Christ,  and,  secondly,  that  he  was  about  to 
be  crucified.  Perhaps  in  God's  sight  the  real  glory  of  Christ's 
life  was  the  healing  in  the  valley;  but  for  us,  whose  lives  are 
spent  in  the  valley,  there  is  need  of  the  vision  of  the  trans- 
figuration on  the  mountain. 

We  have  ceased  to  suppose,  if  indeed  any  one  ever  did  really 
suppose,  that  men  are  saved  by  assenting  to  a  dogmatic  propo- 
sition. He  who  trusts  to  any  intellectual  conviction  to  save 
him  trusts  in  a  refuge  of  lies,  even  though  the  conviction  itself 
is  true.  There  is  no  saving  power  in  mere  factuality.  Men 
are  saved  by  committing  themselves  loyally  to  the  truth  that 
God  loves  them  and  that  he  is  able  to  help  them  live  a  life  of 
love.  This  is  what  transfigures  life,  and  saves  men.  It  is  not 
mere  doing  good  that  saves;  it  is  the  spirit  that  underlies  the 
good  done,  and  proves  the  motive  toward  the  good.  A  man 
can  lose  his  soul  in  mere  slavery  of  soul-torture  for  Christ's 
sake.  He  may  bury  the  roots  of  his  religion  so  deep  in  the 
mere  doing  of  the  law  that  there  is  no  growth  upward,  no 
flower  of  the  beauty  of  life,  no  fruit  of  a  large,  lovable  man- 
hood. This  is  what  spoils  some  people's  religion,  and  repels 
their  neighbors  from  the  religious  life.  Christ  transfigured  the 
doing  of  duty  with  love,  and  made  it  glorious  with  the  luster 
of  his  own  life.  Henceforth  duty  is  not  drudgery,  but  the  joy 
of  service. 

I    slept    and    dreamed    that    life    was    Beauty; 
I   woke  and   found  that   life   was   Duty. 
Was   my  dream,   then,  a  shadowy  lie? 

Nay,  for  the  doing  of  duty  in  the  spirit  of  Christ  transfigures 
the  hard  outlines  of  obligation  with  the  generous  and  delicate 
traceries  of  faith,  hope  and  love;  so  that  the  real  seer  of  the 
vision  of  beauty  is  not  the  dreamer  but  the  worker,  the  dis- 
coverer of  the  beauty  of  holiness. 

Even  in  this  blessed  experience  Jesus  was  not  alone.  It  was 
not  an  experience  too  blessed  to  share  with  redeemed  souls 
and  with  his  disciples. 

Peter  proposed  to  stay  there  with  Jesus  and  Moses  and 
Elias,  "for  he  knew  not  what  to  say."    Perhaps  he  might  better 


THE    VISION    OF    THOSE    WHO    WAKE  281 

not  have  said  anything,  but  what  he  said  is  what  we  all  some- 
times instinctively  feel.  Moses  was  alone  in  his  transfig-uration. 
Moses  talked  with  God  alone,  but  Christ  takes  us  up  into  the 
mountain  ^^ith  him.  Why  not  leave  the  world,  and  abide  with 
him  alone?  But  we  cannot  abide  in  the  mount.  Our  life  is  in 
the  plain.  At  times  we  may  ascend  to  those  blessed  heights, 
but  they  are  not  for  our  present  habitation.  But  we  still  have 
Jesus,  not  always  transfigured,  but  the  same  divine  Saviour, 
going  about  doing  good,  casting  out  demons,  and  laying  down 
his  life  for  men. 

It  was  Christ's  approaching  death  that  occasioned  the  trans- 
figuration. The  mount  of  transfiguration  and  the  mount  of 
crucifi-xion;  what  a  contrast  they  afforded  to  the  disciples! 
But  they  were  not  inconsistent  as  God  saw  it.  Jesus  had  told 
them  only  a  week  before  about  his  approaching  death,  and 
Peter  had  rebuked  him.  Now  came  this  scene  which  set  his 
approaching  death  before  them  in  a  new  light.  They  did  not 
yet  understand  it.  It  was  still  a  dread  and  terrible  mystery 
to  them.  But  some  things  began  to  be  plain.  The  cross  was 
in  some  way  connected  with  a  heavenlv  glory.  It  was  under- 
stood by  the  souls  of  the  redeemed.  It  was  a  part  of  the 
glorious  work  of  God.  These  things  Jesus  wished  to  have 
understood  in  connection  with  his  death.  Something  of  these 
truths  must  have  come  to  the  disciples  in  connection  with  this 
event;  but  however  little  they  understood  it  at  the  time,  it 
was  an  unspeakable  comfort  afterward. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


THE  DIVINE  TAX-PAYER 

Jesus  descended  from  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  and 
healed  the  demoniac  boy.  Then  he  returned  with  his  disciples 
to  Galilee,  when  he  again  told  them  that  he  was  to  be  put  to 
death.  They  had  been  gone  some  time  from  Capernaum,  and 
had  been  missed  by  the  tax-collector.  The  story  was  as 
follows : 

"And  when  they  were  come  to  Capernaum,  they  that 
received  the  half-shekel  came  to  Peter,  and  said,  Doth  not  your 
master  pay  the  half-shekel?  He  saith.  Yea.  And  when  he 
came  into  the  house,  Jesus  spake  first  to  him,  saying,  What 
thinkest  thou,  Simon?  the  kings  of  the  earth,  from  whom  do 
they  receive  toll  or  tribute?  from  their  sons,  or  from  strangers? 
And  when  he  said.  From  strangers,  Jesus  said  unto  him.  There- 
fore the  sons  are  free.  But,  lest  we  cause  them  to  stumble, 
go  thou  to  the  sea,  and  cast  a  hook,  and  take  up  the  fish  that 
first  Cometh  up;  and  when  thou  hast  opened  his  mouth,  thou 
shalt  find  a  shekel:  that  take,  and  give  unto  them  for  me  and 
thee"  (Matt.  17:  24-27). 

The  miracle  of  the  stater  in  the  fish's  mouth  is  the  most 
perplexing  of  all  the  miracles  wrought  by  Jesus.  The  narrative 
is  contained  in  Matthew  only,  and  breaks  off  so  abruptly,  with- 
out saying  definitel}-  that  the  miracle  was  wrought,  that  we 
can  hardly  help  wondering  whether  some  important  feature 
of  the  incident  has  not  failed  to  come  down  to  us.  It  might 
be  a  relief  if  we  were  to  accept  the  theory  that  the  finding  of 
the  coin  in  the  fish's  mouth  was  a  later  gloss,  and  that  what 
the  manuscript  originally  contained  was  the  fact  that  Peter 
fished  and  sold  his  catch  for  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  the  tax 
for  Jesus  and  himself.     As  no  other  gospel  contains  a  parallel 

282 


THE    DIVINE    TAX-PAYER 


283 


account  with  which  to  supplement  this,  which  manifestly  closes 
leaving  the  story  incomplete,  we  would  be  justified  in  a  query 
as  to  the  real  meaning  of  the  incident,  if,  indeed,  there  existed 
sources  of  information  availal)le  to  answer  our  questions.  In 
the  absence  of  these,  we  are  safest  in  taking  the  narrative  in 
its  apparent  meaning,  and  treating  this  as  the  one  miracle 
which  Jesus  wTOught  for  himself. 

The  first  difficulty  that  meets  us  is  the  fact  that  Jesus  was 
at  least  six  months  in  arrears  in  his  payment.  A'^arious  explana- 
tions of  this  fact  have  been  attempted.  The  truth,  it  seems  to 
me,  is  not  far  to  seek  if  we  do  not  try  too  hard  to  see  it.  While 
every  Jew  was  liable  to  this  tax,  and  no  exceptions  appear  to 
have  been  provided  for,  it  is  likely  that  when  Jesus  was  at 
the  height  of  his  popularity  there  was  no  demand  for  the  tax. 
and  Jesus  accepted  the  waiving  of  the  demand  as  a  courtesy. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  prophets  and  rabbis  were  exempt  by 
unanimous  consent.  He  had  undoubtedly  paid  the  temple  tax 
during  the  ten  years  he  lived  in  Nazareth  between  his  twentieth 
and  thirtieth  years.  Then  he  began  to  preach  and  teach  and 
heal,  and  no  demand  was  made.  Through  a  general  recognition 
of  the  propriety  of  an  exemption,  he  accepted  the  situation. 
The  reason  he  had  not  paid  it  when  it  was  due  was  that  he  did 
not  intend  to  pay  it  unless,  as  it  came  to  pass,  the  grudging, 
inhospitable  spirit  of  the  place  compelled  it.  According  to  the 
law  he  owed  it;  yet,  if  according  to  the  higher  law  of  courtesy 
and  affection  it  was  not  demanded,  he  would  not  pay  it.  What- 
ever favors  came  to  him  as  a  rabbi,  he  accepted  with  easy 
grace.  He  even  noticed  it  and  spoke  of  it  when  courtesies 
were  given  condescendingly  and  in  a  stinted  manner,  as  in  the 
case  of  Simon  the  Pharisee,  and  he  appreciated  what  seemed 
to  others  excessive  display  of  affection  as  in  the  case  of  the 
alabaster  box  of  ointment. 

It  is  a  sign  of  his  waning  popularity  that  nov\',  returning  to 
Capernaum,  no  crowds  meet  him,  and  instead  of  the  cordial 
enthusiasm  of  former  returns,  he  meets  a  dun  for  his  temple 
tax.  The  demand  came  when  he  was  least  able  to  pay  it.  He 
and  the  disciples  had  had  long    journeys  into    distant  parts. 


284 


JESUS    OF    NAZARKTll 


where  he  had  few  if  any  friends  to  minister  to  him.  They  had 
been  away  to  the  coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  and  later  to 
Ca^sarea  PhiHppi.  These  journeys  had  cost  money,  and  liad 
brought  in.  little  to  the  treasury.  Xow  the  demand  came,  and 
perhaps  in  tiic  s])irit  of  criticism,  to  make  a  test  case.  There 
were  a  few  Jews  who  had  refused  to  pay  the  tax  so  long  as 


THE   COIN    IN    THE    FISH's    MOUTH — ( SPAGNOLETTO.    T588-1656) 

Jerusalem  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Romans.  Would  Jesus 
claim  fellowship  with  them?  Or  would  one  making  so  great 
claims  as  he  was  understood  to  make  submit  to  taxation?  Tt 
was,  to  cavilers,  an  interesting  question. 

Peter  had  answered  at  once,   perhaps  from  his  knowledge 
of  Tesus'  former  payments,  perhaps  on  general  principles,  per- 


THE    DIVINE    TAX-PAYER  285 

haps  impulsively  and  without  s'ootl  reason,  perhaps  from  a 
desire  to  avoid  all  possible  trouble  with  the  Jews.  When  he 
went  to  Jesus  about  it,  Jesus  anticipated  him,  and  asked,  "Do 
the  kings  of  the  earth  exact  tribute  of  their  own  children  or 
the  children   of   their  subjects?"      Peter  answered,   "Of  their 


THE- TRIBUTE   MONEY — (TITIAN,    I477-I576) 

subjects."  "Then,"  Jesus  might  have  said,  "the  princes  of  the 
royal  household  are  free.  You  have  acknowledged  me  as  the 
Son  of  God.  But  the  Son  of  God  is  not  tributary  to  the  temple 
of  God.  I  am  greater  than  the  temple."  For  the  tax  was  for 
the  temple.  He  might  have  said,  "Shall  I,  the  Redeemer,  pay 
for  the  redemption  of  my  soul?     Shall   T.  the  real   Shekinah, 


286  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

pay  for  this  degenerate  temple,  now  forsaken  by  the  visible 
presence  of  God?  Shall  I,  the  great  Sacritice,  pay  to  support 
obsolete  rites?  The  destruction  of  this  temple  is  at  hand;  and 
this  treasure  will  be  used  by  the  Romans  to  erect  a  temple  to 
Jupiter — can  I  contribute  toward  this  idolatry?  A  thousand 
times,  No!" 

So  we  might  reason.  On  such  hair-splitting  many  a  theo- 
logical system  is  built.  But  Jesus  says,  "The  Son  is  free,  and 
he  whom  the  Son  makes  free  is  free  also;  nevertheless,  we  will 
not  strain  at  gnats.  Lest  we  should  cause  any  to  stumble, 
pay  it." 


A    MODERN    SCRIBE 


Free  Jesus  was  as  the  Son  of  God,  yet  subject  to  the  tax 
as  the  Son  of  man,  and  it  was  as  the  Son  of  man  that  he  chose 
to  live.  We  are  afraid  of  inconsistency.  Jesus  did  the  most 
inconsistent  things,  as  they  might  be  interpreted,  with  no  fear 
of  inconsistency.  Had  he  said  what  he  did  and  refused  to 
pay  the  money,  we  should  have  had  no  trouble  in  expounding 
the  lessons  of  the  incident;  or  had  he  said  nothing  and  paid  the 
tax,  we  could  have  interpreted  the  lesson.  Jesus  knew  the 
higher  consistency.  We  should  say,  "Jesus  having  announced 
his  divinity,  could  not  consistently  pay  the  tax.  He  must 
adhere  to  his  announcement."  Jesus  cared  less  to  save  his 
consistencv  than  to  save  men. 


THE    DIVINE    TAX-PAYER  287 

We  are  disposed  to  think  about  our  rights.  We  have  rights, 
and  ought  sometimes  to  maintain  them.  But  Jesus,  while  he 
asserted  his  rights  and  demanded  their  recognition,  immedi- 
ately ignored  them.  He  received  the  descending  Spirit  and 
accepted  its  meaning,  and  then  went  to  be  tempted  of  the 
devil.  He  heard  the  voice  from  heaven  promising  that  the 
Father  would  glorify  his  name,  and  then  went  to  Gethsemane. 
He  announced  to  Pilate  that  he  could  have  twelve  legions 
of  angels,  and  was  to  sit  on  the  clouds  as  judge  of  all  men, 
and  then  took  up  his  cross  and  carried  it  until  he  tottered  and 
fell.  He  asserted  that  the  tax  was  not  justly  due  from  him, 
and  then  he  paid  it. 

How  completely  Jesus  identified  himself  with  humanity! 
The  same  coin  paid  for  himself  and  Peter.  He  might  easily 
have  emphasized  the  difference  between  Peter  and  himself  by 
saying,  ''You  will  find  a  drachma  in  the  fish's  mouth;  for  me 
you  may  pav  with  that;  then  sell  the  fish  and  pay  your  own, 
and  learn  that  mine  is  provided  by  divine  power,  while  thine 
must  be  supplied  by  human  effort."  Doubtless  he  intended 
thus  more  fully  to  identify  himself  with  men.  Finally,  we 
must  notice  that  the  coin  was  not  the  sacred  shekel,  but  the 
Roman  didrachma.  The  letter  of  the  law  commanded  pay- 
ment in  the  holy  coin  of  Israel:  Jesus,  even  when  procuring 
the  coin  by  such  means,  was  content  with  the  secular  equiva- 
lent. To  provide  the  sacred  coin  the  money-changers  had 
their  booths  in  the  temple;  but  Jesus,  with  all  power  at  his 
command,  ignored  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  paid  the  temple 
tax  of  the  Son  of  God — and  Peter's  with  it — in  the  coin  of 
Caesar. 


Obverst  Reverst 

THE    SACRED    SHEKEL — SIZE    OF    THE    ORIGINAL 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


JESUS  AND  THE  CHILDREN 

The  Bible  exhibits  us  the  childhood  of  many  of  its  most 
eminent  characters.  Joseph  and  David  meet  us  first  in  their 
early  boyhood.  Moses  and  Samuel  are  known  to  us  from  their 
birth.  We  stand  beside  the  cradle  of  John  the  Baptist  and  ask 
with  others  of  the  company,  "What  manner  of  child  shall 
this  be?"  We  meet  Timothy  in  his  youth,  and  are  carried  back 
still  farther  by  Paul's  reminiscence  to  his  childhood  in  the 
home  of  his  mother  and  grandmother.  Jesus  came  into  the 
world  as  a  little  child.  His  advent  has  given  to  childhood  a 
new  significance  and  a  new  place  in  literature.  The  babe  in 
the  manger,  the  child  increasing  in  wisdom  and  stature,  the 
boy  in  the  temple,  are  all  subjects  which  enlist  our  ready 
interest  and  enhance  our  estimate  of  the  beauty  and  promise 
of  holy  childhood. 

Three  incidents  in  the  life  of  Jesus  afford  our  chief  source 
of  information  concerning  his  estimate  of  childhood.  One  of 
these  forms  the  theme  of  his  discourse  in  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion of  the  disciples.  "Who  is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven?"  (Matt.  i8:  1-14.)  Another  is  his  blessing  the  children 
brought  him  by  their  parents,  with  the  words  that  have  glad- 
dened the  hearts  of  parents  then  and  ever  since,  "Suffer  little 
children,  and  forbid  them  not,  to  come  unto  me:  for  of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  third  is  his  refusal  to  silence 
the  children  who  sang  his  praises  in  the  temple,  and  his  inter- 
pretation of  the  words  of  the  Psalmist  (Matt.  19:  13-15).  "Out 
of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast  perfected 
praise."  The  last  echo  of  the  popular  joy  that  greeted  him  as 
Messiah  and  escorted  in  triinnph  to  the  city  and  the  temple 

288 


JESUS    AND    THE    CHILDREN  289 

comes  to  us  from  the  voices  of  the  children  singing,  "Hosanna 
to  the  Son  of  David"  (Matt.  21:  1-16). 

The  first  incident  recorded  occurred  through  a  dispute 
among  the  disciples  concernino-  the  greatest  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  They  were  not  interested  in  the  abstract  question, 
as  we  might  infer  from  Matthew's  account  taken  by  itself. 
Mark  tells  us  (9:  2,3^  34)  that  while  on  their  way  to  Capernaum 
that  day  they  disputed  among  themselves  which  of  their 
number  should  be  greatest.  Jesus  allowed  the  discussion  to 
take  its  own  course,  and  when  they  arrived  at  Capernaum  the 
question  was  as  remote  as  ever  from  settlement. 

Peter  might  have  maintained  that  he  was  the  greatest,  since 
Jesus  had  helped  pay  Peter's  tax  and  left  the  others  to  shift 
for  themselves.  It  is  significant  that  he  entered  no  such  claim, 
or  if  he  did  the  others  did  not  concede  it.  Nor  did  Peter  ever 
claim,  or  the  others  concede,  pre-eminence  because  of  the 
words  of  Jesus,  "Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church."  The 
question  of  relative  greatness,  which  recurred  to  the  close  of 
Christ's  ministrv,  shows  that  the  apostles  had  no  such  idea 
of  Peter's  authority  as  has  sometimes  been  assumed. 

It  was  an  unhappy  company  that  returned,  wearied  and  un- 
welcomed,  to  Capernaum.  Each  was  displeased  with  the 
others  and  ashamed  of  himself;  and  there  was  no  little  justice 
in  both  feelings.  After  they  were  seated  in  the  house  and 
alone,  and  very  likely  after  supper,  Jesus  asked  them,  "What 
was  it  that  ye  disputed  among  yourselves  by  the  way?"  But 
they  held  their  peace;  and  when  at  last  they  must  say  some- 
thing, instead  of  giving  a  direct  answer  they  proposed  to  Jesus 
the  question  of  the  day.  "And  he  sat  down  and  called  the 
twelve,  and  saith  unto  them.  If  any  man  desire  to  be  first,  the 
same  shall  be  last  of  all,  and  servant  of  all."  That  was  his 
introduction,  and  also  his  application.  It  did  not  answer  their 
question,  but  it  gave  the  truth  co-ordinate  with  the  answer. 
It  told  them  that  they  were  in  danger  of  becoming  least  in 
the  kingdom,  and  were  indeed  lessening  their  hold  upon  it  in 
exact  ratio  to  their  strife  for  greatness.  It  was  a  restatement 
of  the  paradox  so  often  reiterated  in  the  teachings  of  Jesus, 


2LJO  JKSUS    OF    NAZARKTII 

and  never  so  plainly  taui^^ht  as  by  his  life,  that  he  who  would 
save  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  he  who  loses  it  saves  it. 

At  this  point  Jesus  gave  the  twelve  an  object  lesson.  A 
child  or  group  of  children  from  a  neighboring  home,  with 
innocent  curiosity,  stood  near  the  door.  Cai)ernaum  at  this 
time  was  Jesus'  home,  and  the  child  doubtless  knew  him.  It 
is  likely  that  Jesus'  former  kindness  to  the  little  ones  of  the 
village  assured  the  child  in  advance  of  a  welcome.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  he  had  been  there  before  and  had  been  caressed 
by  the  Saviour.  At  any  rate,  when  Jesus  spoke  to  him  he 
came  readily  at  his  call  and  took  without  reluctance  the  seat 
offered  him.  \\'e  can  picture  to  ourselves  the  scene  as  Jesus 
sat,  his  hand  gently  stroking  the  child's  hair,  while  his  disciples, 
self-condemned  and  marveling,  and  the  child,  half  understand- 
ing the  words,  but  yielding  unresisting  to  the  caress,  listened 
to  the  discourse  that  followed. 

"Except  ye  turn,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  in 
no  wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  question  of 
entering  precedes  that  of  relative  greatness.  Their  spirit  was 
opposed  even  to  entrance.  By  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  not 
meant  heaven  itself.  To  think  of  it  as  existing  only  in  worlds 
to  come  is  an  unauthorized  limitation  of  our  thought.  The 
kingdom  is  already  established  in  heaven;  our  prayer  is  that 
even  as  it  is  there,  so  may  it  come  upon  earth,  where  already  it 
has  begun. 

By  becoming  as  little  children  is  meant  that  we  shall  become 
childlike,  not  childish,  in  our  relations  to  God.  We  need  not 
sigh  for  the  immaturity  of  childhood  or  its  irresponsibility. 
The  true  child  of  God  will  not  wish  to  be  one  whit  less  a  man, 
and  will  by  reason  of  his  childlikeness  be  the  more  manly. 

The  margin  of  the  Revised  Version  makes  an  interesting 
correction  in  verse  4,  "Whosoever  therefore  shall  humble 
himself  as  this  little  child,  the  same  is  greater  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."  Greater  tlian  whom?  Greater  than  his  former 
self.  The  word  greatest  inevitably  suggests  a  comparison  with 
others;  the  word  greater  suggests  a  constant  out-growing  of 
self.     It  is  still  true  that  he  who  most  fullv  docs  this  is  greatest; 


JESUS    AND    THE    CHILDREN 


291 


but  this  is  not  the  thought.  Just  so  soon  as.  measuring  our- 
selves against  our  neighbor,  we  take  note  of  our  growth  in 
childHkeness  as  more  manifest  than  his,  we  lose  the  spirit  and 
our  gain  in  stature.  But  we  become  greater  by  rising  "on 
stepping-stones  of  our  dead  selves  to  higher  things."  John 
the  Baptist  decreased,  that  Jesus  might  increase;  and  when  his 


CHRIST    AND   THE    CHILDREN — (hOFMANN,    1824 — ) 


decline  was  most  complete,  when  he  was  deserted  and  in 
danger  and  in  doubt,  just  at  the  time  of  awful  blackness,  when 
he  even  questioned  whether  he  had  not  diminished  out  of  God's 
sight,  Jesus  said  of  him  that  among  those  born  of  women  no 
greater  had  ever  lived. 

But  how  shall    a  man  become  great     by  becoming    small? 
Faith  balanced  upon  a  paradox  seems  to  have  a  precarious 


292  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

footing-.  How  shall  a  man  maintain  it?  Will  he  not  stumble 
and  cause  others  to  stumble?  W'oe  to  him  it  he  does!  What 
seems  an  uncertain  poise  is  indeed  the  one  stable  cciuilibrium 
in  the  universe.  To  Jesus  the  thought  of  increased  orreatness 
by  the  outgrowth  of  self  was  no  paradox  at  all.  He  beggared 
himself  that  of  his  increased  wealth  lie  might  enrich  us.  He 
humbled  himself  that  by  his  higher  exaltation  he  might  exalt 
us.  He  emptied  himself  that  of  his  increased  fulness  we  might 
all  receive.  Only  the  heedless  and  the  half-hearted  will  stunil 
in  the  path  the  Saviour  trod. 

But  what  about  cutting  ofT  the  hand  that  offends?  for  Jesus 
spoke  of  this  in  the  same  connection.  We  shall  answer  more 
at  length  in  the  next  chapter.  These  terrible  verses  must  be 
interpreted  according  to  the  laws  of  rhetoric.  No  man  has  a 
right  to  mutilate  himself,  for  no  man  has  a  right  to  decrease 
his  power  for  good.  It  would  be  better  for  a  man  to  part  with 
a  hand  or  foot  than  to  lose  his  life,  and  ten  thousand  times  has 
the  wounded  man  chosen  to  do  so.  But  in  the  moral  sphere 
the  amputation  is  moral  also,  and  not  physical.  The  organ  tha^ 
sins  is  sinless,  for  sin  is  of  the  soul;  to  cut  ofT  the  hand  or  pluck 
out  the  eye  would  leave  the  soul  still  corrupt.  Wherefore, 
spare  the  hand  and  eye  for  the  service  of  God.  and  amputate 
sin  in  the  soul  itself.  He  who,  for  the  love  of  a  cherished  sin 
refuses  to  become  a  little  child,  need  not  think  he  forfeits  some 
part  only  of  his  honor  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  He  who 
causes  another  to  stumble  need  desire  no  comfort  from  the 
old  heresy  of  Cain.  Better  than  that  he  stumble  himself  and 
be  consumed  in  the  hell  of  his  own  passion  would  it  be  to 
enter  into  life  maimed;  better  than  that  he  cause  a  child  to 
stumble  that  he  should  be  drowned.  It  is  terrible  to  stumble 
one's  self;  it  is  doubly  so  to  cause  another  to  stumble. 

Jesus  was  childlike  l)Ut  never  childish.  He  held  in  stable 
enuilibrium  the  antithetic  truth  of  self-renunciation  and  self- 
assertion.  To  be  a  child  of  God  and  a  king  among  men 
involved  no  self-contradiction  to  him.  but  each  was  possible 
because  of  the  perfection  of  the  other. 

Jesus  had  passed  from  the  theme  of  mere  childhood  to  the 
consideration  of  the  broader  theme;  vet  the  thought   of  the 


JESUS    AND    THE    CHILDREN 


293 


child  all  the  time  had  been  present  in  his  speech,  and  now  he 
returned  again  to  it,  but  with  the  enlarged  meaning  given  by 
the  second  part  of  his  discourse.  Have  these  words  been  terri- 
ble? It  is  only  because  the  soul  is  of  so  great  value  that  the 
most  terrible  measures  are  justified  in  saving  it.  Every  pain 
caused  bv  the  surgeon's  knife  is  a  tribute  to  the  value  of  human 


CHRIST   BLESSING   LITTLE   CHILDREN— (rEMBKANDT,     1607-1669) 

life.  But  God  is  more  than  the  good  surgeon  who  will  sacri- 
fice his  patient's  arm  in  order  to  save  his  life;  he  himself  endures 
sacrifice  for  the  patient's  sake. 

Here  our  Saviour's  words  melt  from  the  sternest  to  the 
tenderest.  God  is  not  only  the  surgeon  but  the  shepherd.  The 
Revised  Version  omits  verse  ii,  which  appears  to  have  been 


294 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


added  irom  Luke  19:  10,  "For  the  Son  of  man  is  come  to  seek 
and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  Be  it  so:  the  thought  is 
still  there.  To  choose  between  two  losses  for  another  may 
seem  easy,  but  God  chooses  rather  to  sacrifice  himself  than  lose 
his  child.  The  one  sheep  gone  from  a  hundred  seems  to  an 
outsider  a  small  loss — what  shepherd  would  not  gladly  be 
assured  of  a  maximum  loss  of  one  per  cent? — but  with  care 
and  love  out  of  all  proportion  to  what  seems  his  relative  value, 
God  seeks  the  individual  sheep  that  he  may  save  him.  "And 
if  it  so  be  that  he  find  it,  he  rejoiceth,"  with  a  joy  incompre- 
hensible except  as  viewed  from  God's  own  desire  that  not  one 
of  these  little  ones  should  perish. 

All  the  time  the  child  sits  in  wonder,  as  well  he  may.  Dimly 
he  realizes  the  Saviour's  meaning,  as  do  we  all,  but  in  its 
breadth  and  length  and  depth  and  height  it  passeth  knowledge. 
As  we  study  these  verses  and  ponder  the  nature  of  childlike- 
ness,  its  purity,  its  trustfulness,  its  reliance  on  the  love  of  the 
Father,  and  think  again  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  into  which 
childlikeness  gives  entrance,  we  may  rejoice  anew  in  the  words: 
"Behold,  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon 
us  that  we  should  be  called  children  of  God;  and  such  we  are. 
Beloved,  now  are  we  children  of  God." 


hi  FhKK    l.ITTl.E    CHII.HNKN  —  (  VC'N     t,    lliih,     i<S4li 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


FELLOWSHIP  AND  FORGIVENESS 

In  connection  with  his  lesson  ilKistrated  with  the  httle  child, 
Jesus  for  the  second,  and  so  far  as  is  recorded  the  last  time, 
definitely  spoke  of  the  Church.  The  promise  of  authority 
made  to  Peter  at  Ccxsarea  Philippi  is  now  repeated  to  them 
all,  and  bestow^ed  likewise  on  "two  or  three"  who  in  com.ing- 
time  shall  unite  together  in  his  name  in  the  org-anized  fellow- 
ship of  the  Church.  In  case  of  disagreement,  the  final  appeal 
is  not  to  Peter,  but  to  the  Church. 

The  question  of  the  Church  came  up  incidentally.  The 
lesson  had  been  on  the  childlike  spirit,  and  was  a  gentle  rebuke 
of  the  strife  and  self-seeking  of  the  twelve.  They  were  to  seek 
each  other's  welfare,  and  forgive  each  other's  faults.  If  an 
erring  brother  can  be  forgiven  and  restored,  the  one  injured 
has  not  lost  his  self-respect  in  the  forgiveness,  but  has  gained 
his  brother — and  himself.  Such  a  doctrine  naturally  aroused 
questions.  How  many  times  shall  a  man  forgive?  Peter  set 
the  limit  interrogatively  at  seven  times.  But  Jesus  moved  the 
bounds,  and  indefinitely — "until  seventy  times  seven." 

Forgiveness  is  the  doctrine  most  preached  and  least  be- 
lieved. Science  knows  no  forgiveness  of  sin,  and  theology  has 
been  busy  hedging  it  about  with  qualifications;  but  it  is  com- 
mon, thank  God,  in  real  life  among  men,  and  this  helps  us  to 
understand  the  gospel.  It  is  an  unfortunate  rendering  which 
the  old  version  gives  us  of  the  noble  words  of  Paul,  "Forgiving 
one  another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven  you" 
(Eph.  4:  32).  God  forgives  us  for  our  own  sakes,  and  for  his 
own  sake.  Jesus  said,  "I  say  not  that  I  will  pray  the  Father 
for  you;  for  the  Father  himself  loveth  you"  (John  16:  26,  27). 
What  Paul  says  in  the  badly  translated  verse  is,  "Even  as  God 

295 


296  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

also  in  Christ  forgave  you."  It  is  our  duty  and  privilege  to 
forgive  as  God  forgives — forgive  and  forget.  The  forgetting 
is  as  important  as  the  forgiveness,  and  completes  it. 

We  ought  to  forget  our  own  failures  and  our  own  forgiven 
sins.  Much  more  ought  we  to  forget  the  faults  and  forgiven 
sins  of  others.  There  is  a  possible  use  to  us  in  remembering 
our  own  faults  as  a  matter  of  discipline  and  prudence;  there 
is  a  sense  in  which  we  ought  not  wholly  to  forget  them,  but 
the  reasons  why  we  may  not  quite  ignore  our  own  outgrown 
faults  and  our  own  forgiven  sins  do  not  apply  to  our  forgetting 
the  frailties  of  others. 

"But,"  some  men  say,  "that  is  just  what  I  cannot  do.  I  can 
forgive,  but  I  cannot  forget." 

I  have  not  much  faith  in  forgiveness  that  does  not  include 
forgetting.  A  person  who  forgives  must  let  the  offense  drop 
out  of  mind,  put  it  away  by  strength  of  will  in  the  first  instance; 
and  then  quietly  ignore  it  till  it  ceases  to  be  remembered.  To 
cease  to  think  about  it  is  the  crowning  mental  triumph  of 
forgiveness,  and  it  prepares  the  way  for  that  later  spiritual 
triumph  of  restored  fellowship.  Can  we  forgive,  but  not 
forget?  Then  the  forgiveness  is  incomplete.  So  long  as  the 
ofTense  is  cherished,  brooded  over,  it  is  unforgiven. 

God  forgets  our  sins.  That  is,  he  ceases  to  cherish  them 
in  his  mind,  half  unforgiven,  as  we  do  when  we  say  we  forgive 
but  cannot  forget.  God  forgives  and  forgets.  'T  will  forgive 
their  iniquity,  and  their  sin  will  I  remember  no  more"  (Jer. 
31:  34).  By  giving,  when  our  left  hand  does  not  know  what 
our  right  hand  does,  and  forgiving  and  forgetting  we  become 
like  God.  When  we  say,  "I  will  forgive  but  not  forget,"  we 
really  mean,  "I  am  not  ready  to  forgive."  Let  no  man  think 
that  he  has  forgiven  while  he  says,  "T  cannot  forget."  When 
he  has  ceased  to  think  of  it  with  bitterness  he  will  have  for- 
given. 

"But,"  asks  someone,  "must  I  forgive  before  forgiveness  is 
asked?    Surely  you  do  not  expect  this  of  me?" 

It  is  behind  this  excuse  that  many  a  man  harbors  an  un- 
christian spirit.    He  will  not  forgive  until  he  is  asked  to  forgive. 


FELLOWSHIP   AND    FORGIVENESS 


297 


nor  forget  till  he  has  forgiven.  Let  me  relate  an  incident  that 
illustrates  what  I  want  to  teach  upon  this  point. 

John  Wesley  once  had  a  disagreement  with  his  traveling 
companion  of  many  years,  and  he  and  Joseph  Bradford  agreed 
to  part.  They  retired  for  the  night,  each  firm  in  his  position, 
and  each  doubtless  deploring  in  his  heart  the  separation  soon 
to  follow  between  two  friends  so  devoted  and  mutually  help- 
ful. In  the  morning  Wesley  asked  Bradford  if  he  had  consid- 
ered during  the  night  their  agreement  to  part. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Bradford. 

"And  must  we  part?"  inquired  Wesley. 

"Please  yourself,  sir."  said  Bradford,  grimly. 

"But  will  you  ask  my  pardon?"  demanded  Wesley. 

"No,  sir."' 

"You  won't?" 

"No,  sir." 

"In  that  case,"  said  Wesley,  "I  must  ask  yours." 

It  w^as  not  the  ending  which  Bradford  anticipated.  A 
moment  he  hesitated,  and  then,  breaking  into  tears,  he  followed 
Wesley's  example,  and  forgave  and  was  forgiven. 

It  might  almost  be  laid  down  as  a  safe  rule  where  there  has 
been  a  quarrel,  "If  the  other  man  will  not  ask  your  forgive- 
ness, ask  his."  It  is  astonishing  often  to  find  that  the  other 
man  also  has  a  grievance,  real  or  imaginary;  and  it  is  beautiful 
to  see  how  often  he  w^ill  forget  it  if  the  first  concession  is  made 
to  him. 

We  pray,  "Forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our  debtors." 
God  forgives,  freely,  fully.  Man}'^  a  man  remains  unforgiven 
because  unforgiving.  Life  is  too  short  and  our  friends  are  too 
few  to  justify  us  in  cherishing  hatred  and  needless  anger.  Even 
if  to  us  the  wrong  appears  wholly  on  the  other  side  there  is 
something  that  can  be  conceded  for  love's  sake. 

Jesus  taught  that  the  man  who  brings  his  offering  to  God 
and  remembers  that  his  brother  hath  aught  against  him  should 
leave  his  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  and  be  reconciled  to  his 
brother,  and  then  offer  his  gift.  The  worship  of  God  is  so 
joined  to  fidelity  toward  men  that  the  forgiving  man  is  sure 


298  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

to  be  the  forgiven  man.  If  your  enemy  will  not  ask  your 
forgiveness,  ask  his;  and  if  he  will  not  forgive  you,  then  forgive 
him.  whether  or  no.     An'l  haxing  forgiven,  forget. 

At  this  time  John  told  Jesus  how  thev  had  found  one  cast- 
ing out  demons  in  his  name,  but  had  forbidden  liim  l)ecause 
he  followed  not  them.  Fit  type  of  the  sectarian  s]:)irit  that 
surely  was.  and  as  commendable  for  its  zeal  as  it  w-as  lacking 
in  good  sense  and  charity.  But  Jesus  answ^ered.  "Forbid  him 
not;  for  there  is  no  man  which  shall  do  a  mighty  work  in  my 
name,  and  be  able  ([uickly  to  speak  evil  of  me.  For  he  that 
is  not  against  us  is  for  us"  (Mark  9:  39,  40). 

At  this  same  time  Jesus  repeated,  and  with  more  emphasis, 
those  terrible  words  about  self-mutilation,  which  have  been 
so  variously,  and  sometimes  literally  interpreted: 

"And  if  thy  hand  cause  thee  to  stumble,  cut  it  oiT:  it  is  good 
for  thee  to  enter  into  life  maimed,  rather  than  having  thy  tw'o 
hands  to  go  into  hell,  into  the  unquenchable  fire.  And  if  thy 
foot  cause  thee  to  stumble,  cut  it  off:  it  is  good  for  thee  to 
enter  into  life  halt,  rather  than  having  thy  two  feet  to  be  cast 
into  hell.  And  if  thine  eye  cause  thee  to  stumble,  cast  it  out: 
it  is  good  for  thee  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  with  one 
eye,  rather  than  having  two  eyes,  to  be  cast  into  hell;  where 
their  w'orm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched.  For  every 
one  shall  be  salted  with  fire.  Salt  is  good:  but  if  the  salt  have 
lost  its  saltness,  wherewith  will  ye  season  it?  Have  salt  in 
yourselves,  and  be  at  peace  one  wath  another"  (Mark  9:  43-50). 

Gehenna  was  Jerusalem's  offal  heap,  the  valley  where  were 
burned  the  carcasses  from  the  city.  We  are  told  to  cut  ofif 
the  right  hand  and  pluck  out  the  right  eye  rather  than  be 
cast,  soul  and  body,  to  creation's  ash-heap.  This  is  sometimes 
preached  as  if  it  were  the  whole  gospel,  and  as  though  God's 
ideal  were  a  church  of  maimed  men  and  women,  who  had  made 
the  fearful  choice  between  death  and  mutilation,  and  who  live, 
saved  by  moral  surgery.  Rut  the  surgeon  does  not  count  his 
successes  by  his  amputations,  but  rather  by  the  limbs  which 
he  has  been  able  to  save  from  amputation.  The  Son  of  man 
came  not  to  amputate  but  to  save,  not  to  condemn,  but  to 


FELLOWSHIP   AND    FORGIVENESS 


299 


restore,  not  to  destroy  but  to  fulfil.  Paul  tells  us  that  if 
we  judge  ourselves,  we  shall  not  be  judged.  The  salt  is  for 
preserving,  not  for  desolation;  the  fire  is  for  refining,  not  for 
destruction;  the  surgeon  is  for  restoring,  and  not  until  everv 
other  resource  has  failed,  for  amputation,  and  even  when  he 
amputates  it  is  still  to  save.  The  Son  of  God  is  sent  to  save 
the  world  and  not  condemn  the  world. 

The  undving  worm  and  unc|uenchable  fire  are  the  symbols, 
not  of  torture,  but  of    destruction.     The  worm    is    not    the 


THE    VALLEY    OF    HINNOM 


product  of  the  fire,  but  of  the  decomposition  for  which  the 
fire  is  the  remedy.  The  fire  is  as  fatal  to  the  worm  as  to  the 
carcass.  Yet  even  the  worm  and  the  vulture  have  their  place 
m  removing  decay  when  neither  salt  preserves  nor  fire  con- 
sumes; so  the  tendency  of  evil  to  self-destructiveness  is  a  fact 
of  some  moral  significance.  There  still  is  waste  in  the  moral 
world,  and  waste  in  the  life  of  man.  Every  city  has  its 
gehenna  where  the  fire  of  the  dump  is  never  quenched.  But 
the  city,  wasteful  as  it  is,  has  provided  some  economies  in  its 
wastes.  The  rag-picker  and  the  junk-dealer  grow  rich  out  of 
the  cast-oiT  and  waste  products  of  civilized  life,  and  the  garbage 


300 


JKSUS    OF    NAZARETH 


IS  fed  to  swine  and  the  offal  fertilizes  the  field  of  the  husband- 
man. Dickens'  "Golden  Dustman"  illustrates  the  wealth  that 
men  find  in  the  wastes  of  life.  We  are  already  past  the  undying 
worm  in  the  utilization  of  municipal  waste,  and  we  build  the 
unquenched  fire  where  its  ashes  may  fill  waste  spaces  and 
prepare  for  future  homes.  So,  we  may  hope,  God's  wastes  are 
apparent  rather  than  real. 


GEHENNA    AND    ACELDAMA 


We  are  at  liberty  to  hope  that  creation  will  have  no  final 
dumping  ground,  and  that  nothing  shall  be  thrown  to  the  void 
when  God  hath  made  the  pile  complete.  But  we  cannot  forget 
that  men  now  live  in  hell.  Unsalted  by  self-restraint,  they 
have  reached  the  salt  plain  of  desolation  which  is  Sodom.  Not 
purified  by  the  fire  of  a  discerning  conscience,  they  are  burned 
in  the  fire  of  passion  till  their  souls  are  in  the  consuming 
flames.  Whatever  hells  there  are  and  are  to  be,  some  men  are 
choosing  destruction  for  themselves,  now.  and  so  far  as  they 
can,  forever.  The  Son  of  man  has  come,  not  to  add  to  their 
destruction  which  is  suicidal,  but  to  save  them  from  themselves. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


JESUS  AND  THE  WORLD  AT  LARGE 

Up  to  this  time  we  have  usually  had  three  parallel  accounts 
of  the  life  of  Christ — Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke  having  so 
much  in  common  that  they  are  known  as  the  Synoptics,  "those 
who  see  together."  Where  John  relates  an  incident,  it  is  com- 
monly something  not  found  in  any  of  the  other  gospels, 
though  there  are  some  exceptions,  as  that  of  the  feeding  of 
the  five  thousand,  which  is  the  only  m.iracle,  except  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ,  that  is  recorded  in  all  the  gospels.  We  now 
approach  a  new  epoch  in  the  life  of  Christ,  a  period  of  four  or 
five  months  on  which  Matthew  and  Mark  are  silent.  Luke 
alone  gives  us  an  account  of  the  Perasan  ministry,  which  began 
in  November  and  ended  in  March,  and  John  interjects  the 
account  of  the  Feast  of  the  Dedication  in  December,  and  the 
raising  of  Lazarus,  apparently  in  January.  It  is  Luke  who 
gives  us  most  of  the  few  glimpses  which  we  get  of  the  broader 
attitude  of  Jesus  toward  the  world  outside  Judaism.  The  inci- 
dents are  few,  for  his  personal  work  was  mainly  for  "the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,"  but  the  few  that  we  have  are 
illuminating. 

Several  incidents  near  the  beginning  of  the  second  half  of 
the  last  year  of  his  life  shed  light  on  the  larger  aspects  of  the 
ministry  of  Jesus.  One  of  these  is  the  mission  of  the  seventy. 
As  the  number  of  the  twelve  apostles  had  its  symbolic  refer- 
ence to  Israel,  so  the  number  of  the  seventy  now  sent  forth 
had  its  reference  to  "the  seventy  nations"  whom  the  Jews 
reckoned  as  constituting  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  seventy 
constituted  no  permanent  body  like  that  of  the  apostles.  It 
was  a  large  company  of  evangelists  sent  for  preparatory  work 
into  the  places  where  he  him.self  would  come.     We  have  no 

301 


302  JESUS    or    NAZARETH 

reason  to  assume  that  none  of  them  went  farther  than  Jesus 
actually  journeyed,  but  only  that  hi?  intended  journey  assii^^ned 
the  general  limit  of  their  j^ilgrimages.  The  restriction  given  to 
the  twelve  is  not  here  repeated,  forbidding  them  to  enter  the 
cities  of  the  Samaritans;  indeed.  Jesus  himself  soon  after  thi 
attempted  to  visit  a  Samaritan  city.  That  city  did  not  receive 
him,  but  he  refused  to  call  down  fire  upon  it,  as  the  disciples 
wished.  They  knew  not  what  manner  of  spirit  they  were  of. 
nor  did  they  know  his  larger  love. 

If  there  were  any  cities  on  which  at  this  time  Jesus  would 
have  called  down  fire,  they  were  those  that  he  had  loved  most, 
and  had  done  most  to  bless.  Jesus  was  more  than  the  meek 
and  lowly  Saviour,  bearing  uncomplainingly  the  sufferings 
inflicted  upon  him  for  human  salvation.  He  was  more  than 
the  self-denying  and  self-renouncing  Lamb  of  God;  he  was 
the  stern  and  uncompromising  enemy  of  wickedness.  He  was 
the  regal,  authoritative  representative  of  divine  justice,  as  well 
as  the  hostage  of  divine  grace.  He  had  self-assertion  as  well 
as  self-abnegation.  The  voice  that  uttered  the  beatitudes 
hurled  words  that  were  like  stinging  scorpions  at  the  Phari- 
sees. The  hand  that  was  laid  in  healing  upon  the  sick,  held 
the  scourge  of  small  cords.  As  he  was  leaving  Galilee  he 
exhibited  both  se\'erity  and  tenderness  in  the  same  discourse; 
we  hear  at  once  some  of  the  most  terrible  warnings  and  the 
most  gracious  invitations  that  ever  fell  from  his  lips.  "Woe 
unto  thee  Chorazin!"  "Come  unto  me,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest." 

Theologians  used  to  discuss  the  question  whether  divine 
grace  were  irresistible,  and  whether  human  accord  with  the 
divine  will  was  always  in  proportion  to  the  divine  effort.  Thi'; 
passage  would  seem  to  afford  a  clear  answer  to  the  latter 
question.  God  wasted,  so  it  would  seem,  on  Capernaum  and 
Chorazin,  effort  which  would  have  resulted  in  the  conversion 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  It  is  a  sad  fact  that  much  of  God's  effort 
seems  thus  to  waste  itself.  Probably  it  is  not  wasted.  He 
who  causes  it  to  rain  in  the  wilderness  where  no  man  is,  has 
larger  thoughts  of  economy  and  waste  than  those  to  which 


JESUS    AND    THE    WORLD    AT    LARGE 


303 


we  accustom  ourselves.  It  is  significant  that  the  warning  is 
against  the  misuse  of  exceptional  opportunities.  Capernaum 
was  not  the  center  of  hostility  against  him.  He  did  not  expect 
to  be  crucified  in  Chorazin.  The  Sanhedrin  did  not  hold  in 
Bethsaida  the  court  that  was  to  condemn  him.  These  cities 
were  not  bitterly  hostile  to  Jesus.  Probably,  in  a  way,  they 
were  proud  of  the  distinction  which  his  residence  had  con- 
ferred on  them.     Many  of  his  followers  cam.e  from  there.     His 


A    SAMARITAN    VILLAGE 


best  friends  were  residents  of  those  places.  These  cities  had 
once  sent  out  eager  throngs,  running  after  Christ,  around  the 
lake  and  from  shore  to  shore.  Boats  were  at  a  premium  when 
he  came  there,  and  those  who  could  not  obtain  boats  walked 
around  the  little  sea.  This  eagerness  had  worn  ofT.  He  was 
heard  now  with  a  languid  interest.  Truths  which  once  seemed 
vital  had  now  grown  commonplace,  and  men  who  had  once  been 
eager  had  grown  indifferent.    The  cities  that  had  received  the 


304 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


most   had  failed  to  respond  in  proportion   to  their  blessings, 
'i^his  was  the  ground  of  their  c(jndennialion. 

r>ut  lesus  did  not  stop  with  condemnation.  He  closed  his 
denunciation  with  a  most  tender  entreaty.  Some  things  in  the 
Bible  are  true  and  would  be  true,  no  matter  who  spoke  them. 
The  multiplication  table  is  true,  though   the  whole  universe 


COME    UNTO    ME — CtHORVVALDSEN) 


should  deny  it.  It  is  right  to  love  the  good  and  hate  the 
bad.  no  matter  who  teaches  the  one  or  defends  the  other.  If 
Pythagoras  first  declared  that  the  square  on  the  hypothenuse 
of  a  right  angled  triangle  is  e(|ual  to  the  sum  of  tlie  squares 
upon  the  other  two  sides,  the  fact  that  Pythao'oras  said  so  has 
historic  interest,  but  adds  nothing  to  the  truth  of  the  proposi- 
tion.   The  same  is  true  of  much  that  is  in  the  Bible.     But  there 


JESUS    AND    THE    WORLD    AT    LARGE 


305 


are  some  things  in  the  Bible  which  depend  for  their  supreme 
authority  and  power  over  the  human  heart  upon  the  person- 
ahty  of  him  who  uttered  them.  The  invitation  and  promise, 
"Come  unto  me  and  I  wih  give  you  rest,"  is  one  of  these  utter- 
ances. It  makes  much  difference  to  us  w'ho  it  is  that  gives  this 
invitation,  and  couples  it  with  this  promise.  For  here  is  what 
no  other  master  has  commanded;  what  no  other  teacher  can 
impart.  Here  is  a  promise  which  no  other  friend  can  fulfil 
than  Jesus.  "Come  unto  me,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  It  is 
a  command  of  supreme  authority.    It  is  an  invitation  of  unpar- 


THE  INN   OF  THE  GOOD   SAMARITAN 


alleled  tenderness.  It  is  a  promise  of  unapproachable  richness, 
and  a  million  times  in  the  ages  since  the  promise  has  been  ful- 
filled. 

Soon  after  the  beginning  of  this  winter  journey,  Jesus  w^as 
challenged  by  a  lawyer  who  asked  him  the  conditions  of  eternal 
life,  and  being  told  to  love  God  and  his  neighbor,  asked,  "And 
who  is  my  neighbor?"  Jesus  answ-ered  in  the  parable  of  the  good 
Samaritan.  The  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho  was  famous 
for  brigands  in  that  day,  and  is  not  much  more  respectable 
now^     Upon  this  road  Jesus  located  the  scene  of  his  sermon 


3o6 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


story.  It  was  a  vivid  story,  true  to  life  in  every  detail.  A  man. 
presumably  a  Jew,  passini;"  along  this  road,  was  robbed, 
stripped,  and  wounded.  A  priest  and  a  Levite  saw  the  man  and 
passed  by,  but  a  Samaritan  saw  and  helped  him.  Which  of  the 
men  by  his  conduct  had  shown  a  recognition  of  the  principle 
underlying  God's  commandment   of  love  to  men?    But    one 


THE    GOOD    SAMARITAN — (FRANK    T.     MERRILL) 


answer  was  possible.  "He  that  showed  mercy,"  heretic  though 
he  was.  The  application  of  Jesus  w^as  simple  and  direct:  "Go 
thou  and  do  likewise."  So  Jesus,  who  had  rebuked  his  own 
cities  in  a  contrast  wath  Tyre  and  Sidon,  sent  the  Jewish  law- 
yer for  his  lesson  of  love  to  the  Samaritan  whose  theology  was 
wrong  but  whose  heart  was  right. 


JESUS    AND    THE    WORLD    AT    LARGE  307 

Not  long  after  this  Jesus  had  opportunity  to  test  the  relative 
gratitude  of  Jew  and  Samaritan  in  the  healing  of  the  ten  lepers. 
The  ingratitude  of  the  nine  did  not  reinfect  them  with  leprosy 
or  prevent  their  receiving  the  certificate  of  the  priest  that  they 
were  healed.  Nor  was  it  wholly  strange  that  they  were  in  haste 
to  receive  that  certificate.  Home,  friends,  business,  all  that 
was  good  in  life  was  waiting  for  them,  and  grew  unspeakably 
dear  in  their  unexpected  freedom.  With  the  first  leap  of  pure 
blood  their  pulses  tingled  with  hopes  that  had  long  been  dead 
within  them.  They  started,  they  walked,  they  ran,  they  raced 
wildly  toward  that  far  distant  temple,  where  the  priest,  who  was 
also  health  officer,  could  restore  them  to  their  families.  Who- 
ever has  had  a  scarlet  fever  card  on  his  house  for  months  will 
know  the  eagerness  of  men  to  be  certified  as  healed  and  safe 
members  of  the  community.  We  need  not  blame  them  for 
being  in  a  hurry;  but  their  haste  caused  them  to  forget  their 
gratitude,  and  they  have  come  down  to  history  as  men  who 
forgot  to  be  thankful.  All  but  one,  and  he  the  least  likely,  so 
it  would  have  seemed,  to  engage  the  Master's  attention  or  to 
appreciate  his  benefits. 

It  is  significant  that  our  Lord  found  a  Samaritan  the  one 
grateful  man.  Christ's  own  nation  had  come  to  receive  bless- 
ings as  a  matter  of  course,  and  even  to  despise  them.  The 
gospel  was  soon  to  be  preached  to  all  the  world;  and  it  was 
well  that  these  beginnings  showed  the  disciples  a  little  of  the 
largeness  of  that  world.  In  his  discourse  at  Jerusalem  on  the 
Good  Shepherd,  Jesus  declared  himself  to  have  other  sheep 
not  of  the  Jewish  fold.  Already  he  was  finding  a  few  of  them, 
and  bringing  them  to  the  fold  and  care  of  the  Good  Shepherd. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  DEMOCRACY  OF  CHRIST'S  DOCTRINE  OF 

PRAYER 

Jesus  departed  from  Galilee  for  the  last  time  before  his 
crucifixion,  in  November,  A.  D.  29  (Matt.  19:  i.  2;  Mark  10:  i : 
Luke  8:  51).  He  was  rejected  by  the  Samaritans  (Luke  9: 
52-56),  to  whom  he  applied  for  entertainment,  and  crossing 
the  Jordan  below  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  went  into  Per^ea. 
He  visited  Jerusalem  at  the  Feast  of  the  Dedication,  Decem- 
ber 20  to  27,  A.  D.  29,  and  returned  to  Peraea.  He  went  to 
P)ethany  in  January  A.  D.  30,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of 
Lazarus  (John  11).  As  this  return  to  publicity  raised  new 
plots  against  his  life,  he  went  to  "a  city  called  Ephraim,"  in 
"the  country  near  the  wilderness"  (John  1 1 :  54).  He  returned 
again  to  Per?ea,  and  from  it  took  up  his  last  journey  to  Jerusa- 
lem by  way  of  Jericho. 

The  name  Persea  is  that  given  by  Josephus  to  what  in  the 
Bible  is  called  "beyond  Jordan."  Josephus  said  of  it  in  his 
day  that  it  was  larger  than  Galilee  and  less  fertile.  It  is  a  high 
table-land,  broken  by  deep  and  picturesque  ravines.  The 
Mishna  constantly  refers  to  Peraca  as  one  of  the  provinces  of 
the  land  of  Israel,  the  other  two  being  Judaea  and  Galilee. 
Samaria,  of  course,  was  omitted.  Peraea  connected  the  other 
two.  By  crossing  the  Jordan  l;elow  Gennesaret  and  recrossing 
at  Jericho,  a  traveler  from  Galilee  could  attend  the  feasts  at 
Jerusalem  without  passing  through  Samaria. 

Some  time  in  the  autumn  of  his  last  year's  ministry  the 
Pharisees  warned  Jesus  that  Herod  would  kill  him,  and  advised 
him  to  dei)art  from  Galilee.  But  he  answered  that  he  had  no 
fear  of  "that  fox"  Herod;  that  there  was  only  one  place  where 
a  prophet  could  die,  and  that  was  Jerusalem.      This    was    a 

30S 


CHRIST'S    DOCTRINE    OF    PRAYER 


309 


Strange  rejoinder,  and  must  have  surprised  the  Pharisees.  But 
it  was  no  mere  taunt,  and  Jesus  followed  his  prediction  with 
the  pathetic  lament.  "O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  which  killeth 
the  prophets,  and  stoneth  them  that  are  sent  unto  her!  how 
often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as  r 
hen  gathereth  her  own  brood  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would 
not!  Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate;  and  I  say 
unto  you.  Ye  shall  not  see  me,  until  ye  shall  say.  Blessed  is  he 
that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."     (Luke   13:34-35.) 


JESUS    AMONG    PEASANTS — (FRITZ    VON    UHDE.     1846 ) 


He  departed,  however,  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Herod,  but 
joi./neyed  toward  Jerusalem,  by  way  of  Peraea. 

The  ministry  of  Jesus  in  Penxa  is  a  sort  of  brief  epitome  of 
his  ministry  in  Galilee,  repeated  here.  There  were  crowds  for 
a  time,  and  works  of  healing,  notably  that  of  a  demoniac;  and 
there  was  a  woman  healed  on  the  Sabbath  greatly  to  the  scan- 
dal of  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue.  One  of  the  chief  Pharisees 
invited  him  to  a  feast  on  the  Sabbath,  and  he  attended,  rebuk- 


3IO  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

ing  the  self-seeking  which  he  saw  there,  and  speaking  the  par- 
able of  the  supper  and  the  guests  that  would  not  come.  He 
ofifended  the  Pharisees  as  he  had  done  in  Galilee,  and  warned 
the  people  as  he  had  already  warned  the  disciples,  against 
them.  He  rebuked  a  man  who  asked  him  to  settle  a  dispute 
between  him  and  his  brother  about  property,  and  taught  a 
lesson  against  covetousness  in  the  parable  of  the  rich  fool.  He 
prophesied  that  the  kingdom  of  hoaven  was  surelv  to  grow  as 
the  mustard  seed  and  the  leaven;  but  he  declared  that  in  it 
many  of  the  first  should  be  last,  and  the  last  first. 

But  as  the  teaching  of  Jesus  grew  wider  in  the  scope  of 
those  included  in  its  benefits,  it  grew  more  stern  toward  those 
who  had  had  and  despised  those  benefits.  When  he  was  asked. 
"Lord,  are  there  few  that  be  saved?"  he  did  not  answer  directly, 
but  declared  that  many  who  were  confident  of  their  salvation 
were  mistaken: 

"When  once  the  master  of  the  house  is  risen  up,  and  hath 
shut  to  the  door,  and  ye  begin  to  stand  without,  and  to  knock 
at  the  door,  saying.  Lord,  open  to  us;  and  he  shall  answer  and 
say  to  you,  T  know  you  not  whence  ye  are;  then  shall  ye  begin 
to  say,  We  did  eat  and  drink  in  thy  presence,  and  thou  didst 
teach  in  our  streets;  and  he  shall  say,  I  tell  you.  I  know  not 
whence  ye  are;  depart  from  me.  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity. 
There  shall  be  the  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  when  ye 
shall  see  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets, 
in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  yourselves  cast  forth  without. 
And  they  shall  come  from  the  east  and  west,  and  from  the 
north  and  south,  and  shall  sit  down  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 
.^nd  behold,  there  are  last  which  shall  be  first,  and  there  are 
first  which  shall  be  last"  fLuke  13:  25-29). 

At  this  time  the  news  arrived  that  there  had  been  a 
slaughter  at  Jerusalem.  Certain  Galik-eans  had  been  slain  by 
Pilate.  We  know  not  what  had  been  their  crime,  but  they 
died  as  criminals.  Piesides  these,  eighteen  men  had  lost  their 
lives  in  the  fall  of  a  structure  at  Siloam,  a  little  village  note- 
worthy for  its  resen^oir. 

To  the  Romans  the  death  of  the  Galikxans  was  just  retribu- 
tion for  their  wicked  rebellion;    to  the  Jews,  the  death  of  the 


CHRIST'S    DOCTRINE    OF    PRAYER  311 

men  engaged  in  putting  up  a  structure  with  money  which 
Pilate  had  taken  from  the  treasury  where  it  had  been  conse- 
crated to  God,  would  be  considered  a  divine  judgment.  The 
contrast  is  apparently  Christ's  reason  for  speaking  of  both 
companies  at  once.  The  Jews  thought  one  company,  and  the 
Romans  the  other,  to  have  been  greater  sinners  than  others. 
Jesus  refutes  both  errors  at  once,  and  calls  upon  his  hearers 
for  immediate  repentance  lest  they,  too,  fall  under  divine  con- 
demnation. They  were  all  sinners,  and  all,  the  Pharisees 
included,  had  need  of  repentance  and  forgiveness. 

We  need  not  wonder  that  such  teaching  enraged  the  Phari- 
sees. From  this  time  Jesus  endeavored  to  do  less  public  work, 
and  to  teach  his  disciples  the  most  important  lessons  before 
his  crucifixion.     Among  these  lessons  was  one  on  prayer. 

A  helpful  little  volume  is  entitled,  "With  Christ  in  the 
School  of  Prayer."  The  title  is  a  misnomer.  It  was  John,  the 
forenmner  who  kept  the  school  of  prayer.  Long  before  this 
the  Pharisees  had  complained  that  Jesus  feasted  while  John 
and  his  disciples  fasted  and  made  prayers.  The  disciples  of 
John  had  echoed  the  complaint.  Now,  near  the  end  of  his 
ministry,  the  disciples  of  Jesus  came  to  him,  saying,  "Lord, 
teach  us  to  pray;  as  John  also  taught  his  disciples."  The  dis- 
ciples felt  neglected,  in  comparison  with  the  disciples  of  John. 
But  if  Jesus  taught  little  about  prayer,  he  certainly  prayed,  and 
his  own  prayer  furnished  the  occasion  of  the  request.  Much 
as  he  prayed  himself,  he  had  taught  them  but  one  short  prayer, 
and  that  more  than  a  year  before. 

I  am  not  disposed  to  lay  emphasis  on  verbal  differences  be- 
tween the  gospels;  but  I  cannot  fail  to  note  that  Jesus  now 
taught  them  the  same  prayer,  but  in  shorter  form.  The 
extended  form  of  the  prayer  as  given  in  the  prayer-book  from 
Matthew  contains  sixty-nine  words;  in  the  revised  version  of 
Luke  there  are  only  thirty-nine.  Thirty-nine  words  in  the 
great  universal  prayer;  and  our  creeds  extend  to  thirt^'^-nine 
articles! 

In  this  shorter  form  Jesus  does  not  say  "Our  Father,"  but 
only  "Father;"  by  this  time  they  ought  to  have  learned  the 


312  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

lesson  of  brotherhood  taught  in  the  pronoun.  He  does  not 
say  "Who  art  in  heaven;"  he  himself  had  been  revealing  God 
as  our  Father  also  on  earth,  to  make  our  heaven  for  us.  "Thy 
kingdom  come"  has  not  again  set  over  against  it  the  more  pas- 
sive "Thy  will  be  done,"  and  "Bring  us  not  into  temptation" 
has  no  subjoined  petition  for  deliverance  from  evil. 

As  has  been  said,  I  do  not  emphasize  these  differences.  I 
merely  note  that,  if  Jesus  taught  the  Lord's  prayer  twice,  with 
an  interval  of  more  than  a  year  between,  the  later  form  was 
the  shorter.  Prayer  being  communion  of  the  soul  with  its  God, 
cannot  wholly  be  taught.  It  arises  out  of  kinship  of  God  and 
iiis  child. 

The  Mohammedan  knows  just  how  often  he  must  pray  and 
what  his  attitude  must  be.  and  which  way  he  should  face,  and 
what  words  he  should  say.  but  the  Christian  has  no  such  pre- 
cise rules  to  guide  him.  The  heathen's  prayer  assumes  the 
indifference  or  hostility  of  his  god;  but  the  Christian's  prayer 
is  based  on  his  sonship. 

Jesus  here  taught  the  parable  of  the  grudging  friend  who, 
because  of  importunity,  would  rise  at  midnight  to  assist  a 
neighbor.  If  importunity  could  thus  triumph  over  unkind- 
ness.  much  more  would  it  avail  with  a  willing  Father. 

Jesus  taught  that  prayer  is  not  to  remove  God's  unwilling- 
ness, because  God  wills  the  good  of  his  children. 

"And  I  say  unto  you.  Ask.  and  it  shall  be  given  you;  seek, 
and  ye  shall  find;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.  For 
every  one  that  asketh  receiveth;  and  he  that  seeketh  findeth; 
and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened.  And  of  which 
of  you  that  is  a  father  shall  his  son  ask  a  loaf,  and  he  give  him 
a  stone?  or  a  fish,  and  he  for  a  fish  give  him  a  serpent?  Or  if 
he  shall  ask  an  egg,  will  he  give  him  a  scorpion?  If  ye  then, 
being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him?"     (Luke  11:9-13.) 

In  the  light  of  this  teaching,  let  us  return  a  moment  to  the 
account  of  the  Lord's  prayer  as  given  in  Matthew,  and  con- 
sider the  democracy  of  Christ's  doctrine  of  prayer.      God  is 


CHRIST'S    DOCTRINE    OF    PRAYER 


313 


our  Father;  all  men  in  him  may  rise  to  a  common  level  of 
approach.  Therefore,  said  Jesus,  "When  thou  prayest,  enter 
into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy 
Father  which  is  in  secret"  (Matt.  6:  6). 

We  have  done  well  to  adopt  the  phraseology  of  Jesus,  which 
he  himself  adopted  from  the  current  language  of  his  time,  of 
a  "kingdom  of  God,"     It  emphasizes  the  solidarity  of  interest 


THE   CHURCH    OF    THE   LORD  S    PRAYER    ON    MOUNT    OF    OLIVES 
WITH    TABLETS    CONTAINING   THE   PRAYER   IN    32   LANGUAGES 


which  men  have  in  the  government  of  God,  and  the  sociaHtv 
of  their  efTort  which  centralizes  all  righteous  endeavor,  and  all 
normal  relationship.  But  we  mistake  if  from  our  thought  of 
a  kingdom  we  eliminate  that  democratic  element  which  is  so 
strongly  characteristic  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  concerning  the 
method  of  God's  government.  "Thou  when  thou  prayest. 
enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray 
to  thy  Father."  Thou,  when  thou  hast  a  message  for  the 
King,  go  direct  to  the  King!    Our  fathers  fought  for  the  right 


314  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

of  petition,  and  j;-aine(l  that  ri^lit  in  linnian  q-overnment ;  it 
was  theirs  already  in  the  (H\ine  g-overnnient.  They  were  con- 
tent if  they  might  elect  representatives  who  should  speak  to 
the  kings  of  earth  on  their  liehalf;  but  the  King  of  kings 
receives  his  humblest  sul)ject  into  his  ])resence.  The  United 
States  ambassador  at  the  court  of  Saint  James  has  lying  on  his 
desk  a  thick  and  much  used  book  on  whose  cover  is  inscribed 
"Presentations  at  Court."  A  considerable  part  of  his  business 
is  in  securing  for  American  citizens  the  right  to  appear  for  a 
single  moment  before  the  king  of  England;  but  the  King  of 
earth  and  heaven  welcomes  every  man  who  will  come  to  the 
throne  of  grace. 

It  is  no  mere  sentimental  value  which  these  words  of  Jesus 
give  to  human  life.  Henceforth  priestcraft  becomes  an  open 
delusion.  There  is  room  still  for  any  man  according  to  his 
ability,  learning  or  piety,  to  instruct,  guide,  and  help  his  neigh- 
bor; there  is  room  for  the  special  student  and  the  interpreter; 
there  is  room  for  the  herald  and  the  evangelist;  but  there  is 
no  room  for  any  man  who  pretends  to  a  monopoly  of  divine 
grace.  Through  Jesus  Christ  we  come  to  God  direct.  He  is 
the  Way;  he  is  not  in  the  way.  God  and  the  soul  stand  face  to 
face  with  no  man  between.  Thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter 
the  church?  Yes,  and  let  the  worship  of  others  inspire  thine 
own.  Thou,  when  thou  prayest.  buy  a  prayer-book?  Yes,  and 
let  the  noble  utterances  of  past  ages  give  form  to  thine  own 
crude  aspirations.  Thou,  wdien  thou  prayest,  go  listen  to  a 
sermon?  Yes,  so  shall  the  sermon,  born  of  prayer,  beget  a 
spirit  of  prayer  in  thee.  But  the  right  to  pray  is  thine  own.  and 
is  not  conferred  by  the  Church,  nor  limited  bv  the  prayer-book. 

nor  bestowed  by  the  minister  or  priest.  In  the  kingdom  of  God 
each  man  is  peer  of  the  realm,  with  his  own  coat  of  arms,  his 
own  name  and  standing,  his  own  right  to  be  heard  in  the 
Spirit  of  Christ. 

This  is  the  charter  of  our  liberties;  this  is  the  soul's  declara- 
tion of  independence;  this  is  the  inestimable  boon  conferred  by 
Jesus  on  all  who  come  to  God  in  a  spirit  of  loving  obedience. 

In  so  far  as  liberty  exists  among  men  it  is  the  outgrowth  of 


CHRIST'S    DOCTRINE    OF    PRAYER  315 

this  principle;  for  how  shall  any  man  call  his  hrother  a  ser- 
vant, when  they  are  peers  before  God?  This  is  fundamental 
democracy. 

Jesus  had  occasion  to  speak  again  of  prayer  near  the  end  of 
his  ministry  in  Peraea  (Luke  18:  1-14).  He  spoke  two  parables 
illustrating  the  doctrine  of  prayer.  The  first  was  of  the  unjust 
judge,  who  through  very  weariness  because  of  her  importu- 
nity, did  justice  to  a  poor  widov/.  The  lesson  was,  that  if  perse- 
verance would  accomplish  such  things  even  with  an  unjust 
judge,  patient  and  continued  prayer  would  surely  avail  with 
God,  even  though  the  answer  was  delayed.  The  other  parable 
was  of  the  two  men  who  went  to  the  temple  together.  One 
addressed  God  in  a  speech  of  self-praise,  void  of  the  spirit  of 
prayer.  The  other,  who  felt  too  wicked  to  look  up  to  heaven, 
merely  said,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  and  went  away 
forgiven. 

It  is  this  doctrine  of  prayer,  this  doctrine  of  the  essential 
oneness  of  our  interests  v/ith  those  of  God,  that  enables  us  to 
affirm  that  God's  will  is  the  same  for  all  worlds,  and  to  be  con- 
fident that  he  who  comes  into  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is  on 
a  foundation  that  is  sure,  and  endures  to  all  eternity.  The  life 
of  prayer  is  eternal  life.  He  that  believeth  hath  eternal  life. 
His  life  is  one  with  that  life  of  God  whose  righteous  princi- 
ples vary  not  in  any  age  or  in  any  world.  There  are  some 
things  which  change  often,  and  change  even  while  we  attempt 
to  study  and  classify  them;  there  are  some  that  change  none 
too  rapidly,  and  some  that  do  not  change  fast  enough.  There 
are  some  things  that  might  be  otherwise  than  they  are,  and  it 
would  be  well;  and  some  that  might  be  otherwise  and  be  no 
better  or  worse.  But  there  are  some  things  that  must  ever 
abide,  unchanged  to  all  eternity,  and  these  are  those  things 
that  are  discovered  in  a  life  of  prayer. 

Men  once  were  in  doubt  whether  to  pray  to  one  God  or 
many.  This  is  no  longer  our  perplexity.  Modern  science 
has  driven  us  to  a  more  certain  and  a  more  uncompromising 
monotheism.  Diminished  room  is  left  in  the  universe  for  a 
devil,  and  none  for  other  gods  than  One.    We  cannot  say  that 


3l6  JESUS    OF    N\ZARETH 

the  sunshine  is  from  God,  and  the  storm  is  from  the  devil  for 
the  sun  creates  the  storm.  The  only  Ciod  that  now  is  possi- 
l)le  is  the  God  of  the  pleasant  sunshine  and  of  the  withering' 
heat;  the  God  of  the  cooling  breeze  and  of  the  tornado.  Our 
present  problem  is  the  question  whether  the  one  God  hears 
prayer.  Jesus  anticipated  the  present  needs  of  men.  Never 
in  the  history  of  the  world  was  it  more  imi^ortant  than  now 
that  men  should  know  that  God  may  be  ])raved  to  as  Father, 
and  that  he  hears  and  answers  praver. 

We  think  of  prayer  as  a  pri\-ilege  or  problem,  a  desire  or  a 
duty,  according  to  our  temperament  or  mood  or  training.  We 
recognize  in  our  lives  a  need  of  prayer,  and  we  come  to  the 
act  of  praver  halting  as  we  query  whether  natural  law  leaves 
room  for  prayer.  But  we  shall  continue  to  pray.  We  shall 
rise  above  our  doubts  in  response  to  our  soul's  needs,  and  find 
God  in  our  dangers,  our  temptations,  and  our  aspirations.  The 
best  answer  to  our  doubts  about  prayer  is  the  fact  and  the 
need  of  prayer. 

But  the  doctrine  of  prayer  as  we  have  it  from  Christ  is  more 
than  mere  command  or  permission  to  pray;  it  is  a  philosophv 
of  our  relations  to  God,  which  relations  find  expression  in  a 
mutual  communication.  We  pray  and  God  encourages  out 
prayer  because  oiu-  souls  are  akin  to  his  eternal  Spirit.  There 
is  a  possible  ground  for  prayer  in  the  assumed  insignificance 
of  the  petitioner,  who  prays  only  that  he  may  avert  divine 
wrath;  but  Christ's  doctrine  of  prayer  is  that  our  Father 
knows  our  needs,  and  desires  that  we  shall  speak  to  him  and 
hear  his  answer.  It  is  this  doctrine  that  gives  dignity  to  life, 
and  power  to  united  or  inrlividual  effort  in  the  spirit  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XXX 


UNTIL  HE  FIND  IT 

One  day  as  Jesus  was  making  his  journey  through  Persea, 
a  man  prompted  more  perhaps  by  curiosity  than  earnestness, 
asked,  "Lord,  are  there  few  that  be  saved?"    (Luke  13:  23.) 

Surely  this  was  a  question  that  deserved  an  answer.  It  is 
one  that  has  arisen  in  every  thoughtful  mind.  Yet  the  kind 
of  answer  which  it  deserved  depended  less  on  the  form  of  the 
question  than  on  the  point  of  view  of  the  questioner.  It 
would  seem  as  if  this  man  asked  not  by  reason  of  concern  tor 
himself,  nor  yet  pity  for  others,  but  from  something  hardly 
more  than  idle  curiosity.  There  are  thousands  of  people  like 
him.  There  are  men  who  never  had  interest  enough  in  astron- 
omy to  pay  a  dollar  for  a  book  that  would  teach  them  its  first 
principles,  but  who  weary  an  astronomer  whom  they  chance  to 
meet  with  senseless  questions  about  communications  from 
Mars  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  sun.  There  are  people  who 
have  never  given  an  hour's  serious  study  to  any  single  flower 
who  in  the  presence  of  a  botanist  spring  up  with  interrogation 
points  as  a  wooded  swamp  springs  thick  with  Indian  pipes, 
and  as  these  nature's  interrogation  points  are  degenerate  flow- 
ers, so  often,  heedless  questions  denote  neither  depth  of  moral 
earth  nor  fertility  of  purpose,  but  rather  the  morbid  impulse 
of  a  damp  and  shallow  soul. 

Christ  gave  a  serious  answer  to  an  idle  question.  It  was  a 
question  that  conveyed  an  implied  censure  of  God,  for  it 
looked  in  that  day  as  though  few  would  find  the  way  of  life, 
and  it  was  an  easy  thing  for  the  thoughtless  observer  to  cen- 
sure God  for  that  condition  of  affairs. 

Many  people  have  pronounced  views  on  eternal  punishment 
who  are  making  no  adequate  effort  to  escape  it.     They  have 

3^7 


3i8  JESUS    OF    NAZARI-ni 

some  reason  to  be  interested.  But  it  would  be  more  ])rolitable 
if  their  interest  expressed  itself  otherwise.  A  man's  fitness  for 
heaven  is  not  to  be  tested  by  his  opinion  of  hell,  nor  is  his 
character  dependent  on  his  thought  of  the  precise  condition 
of  things  in  the  other  world.  "Lord  arc  there  few  tliat  be 
saved?"  is  a  (|uestion  that  does  not  of  necessity  in.ii)lv  an 
earnest  desire  for  salvation.  It  is  asked  curiously  ten  tunes 
where  it  is  asked  once  in  downright  earnestness.  Around  the 
question  have  raged  unprofitable  controversies.  In  tliem  Jesus 
refused  to  bear  a  share.  He  told  the  man  to  strive  earnestly 
to  be  among  the  saved,  which  was  good  advice,  whether  the 
saved  are  to  be  many  or  few.  It  may  be  doubted  whether 
any  man  is  very  much  in  earnest  who  professes  interest  in  the 
proportion  of  the  saved  and  lost,  who  does  not  himself  seek  to 
be  among  the  former. 

Jesus'  answer  did,  however,  convey  some  information  on  the 
condition  of  affairs  then.  He  said  that  the  multitudes  were 
pressing  into  the  broad  way,  and  that  few  were  seeking  the 
narrow  way.  It  need  not  be  inferred  that  he  meant  that  it 
always  would  be  so.  It  is  a  fair  cjuestion,  to  be  answered  by 
what  men  are  doing  to-day,  whether  this  has  continued  to  be 
true. 

Wq  have  been  told  a  hundred  times  that  Jesus  answered, 
"Agonize  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate."  He  did  not  say  it. 
He  used  the  Greek  word  from  which  we  derive  the  word  agon- 
ize, but  that  Greek  word  meant  strive.  It  is  unfair  to  take  our 
derived  meanings  and  impute  them  back  to  Christ.  It  is  earn- 
estness, not  agony,  that  takes  men  to  heaven.  Agony  is  sin, 
or  comes  by  reason  of  it.  It  sometimes  costs  agony  to  get 
into  heaven,  but  that  is  not  God's  preferred  way.  The  way 
to  heaven  should  be  a  way  of  joy,  though  a  way  of  honest 
struggle. 

There  is  always  a  strait  gate  that  leads  to  success,  and  few 
in  proportion  find  it.  Not  all  the  men  in  Chicago  who  started 
out  to  become  rich  a  generation  ago  own  department  stores 
on  State  street.  For  every  merchant  prince  within  the  ele- 
\-ated  loop  there  are  a  thousand   who  ha\c   small    shops    on 


UNTIL     HE     FIND     IT 


319 


obscure  streets  or  in  country  towns.  These  need  not  be  counted 
failures,  though  they  are  not  the  kinds  of  success  for  whidi 
their  possessors  strove.  But  the  real  failures  are  not  lacking". 
We  are  deceived  sometimes  by  our  generalities.  It  is  theo- 
retically possible  for  any  American  boy  to  become  president; 
but  it  is  mathematically  impossible  for  every  American  boy  to 
do  so.  Not  every  private  can  become  a  general,  though  any 
private  may.  so  far  as  army  regulations  go.  Not  every  tar  in 
the  forecastle  becomes  an  admiral.     The  way  to  the  highest 


FEED   MY    SHEEP — (RAPHAEL,    I483-I520) 

forms  of  success  in  every  department  of  life  is  straight  and 
narrow.  It  is  open  to  any  one,  but  it  is  not  entered  by  every 
one. 

This  is  where  men  talk  nonsense  about  salvation.  Salvation 
means  more  or  less.  We  are  all  saved  from  something.  Hap- 
pily, there  are  some  forms  of  degradation  which  have  become 
impossible  to  us.  Manhood  is  salvation;  civilization  is  salva- 
tion; good  society  is  salvation — from  some  things.  But  none 
of  these  will  assuredly  save  a  soul  from  being  the  slave  of 
desire,  however  that  desire  be  lifted  above  mere  brutality  by 
external  conditions  that  shape  the  tastes  without  forming  the 


^20  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

character.  To  be  saved  as  Christ  understood  it.  is  to  be  master 
over  one's  own  Hfe.  through  tiie  strength  of  God.  It  is  thus 
to  be  master  also  over  the  world.  It  is  not  to  reverse  gravita- 
tion, but  to  control  passion  wathin  and  temptation  without. 

There  are  many  men  favorably  disposed  to  religion,  but  not 
so  many  strongly  in  earnest  about  it.  There  are  many  men 
who  are  glad  to  have  their  children  in  Sunday  school,  and  who 
count  that  fact  sufficiently  virtuous  to  justify  themselves  in 
Sunday  golf.  The  gate  still  is  too  strait  for  some  men,  not 
for  their  ability,  but  for  their  earnestness.  It  is  not  a  question 
that  should  first  concern  a  man  whether  the  proportion  of  the 
saved  is  large  or  small,  but  whether  he  himself  is  willing  to 
enter  the  gate  of  earnestness,  the  gate  of  sacrifice,  the  gate  of 
joyous  but  strenuous  endeavor,  beyond  which  lies  his  own  and 
humanity's  highest  good. 

The  harsh  words  of  Jesus  concerning  the  Pharisees,  repeated 
here  as  in  Galilee,  left  him  few  friends  among  them.  Jesus 
denounced  tliem  because  they  were  unwilling  to  accept  him. 
but  warned  them  of  the  great  cost  that  would  be  involved. 
He  told  them  that  a  king  about  to  make  war  always  counted 
the  army  against  him  and  his  own  as  well,  but  he  warned  them 
in  the  parable  of  the  unjust  steward,  that  what  was  theirs  then 
w^ould  not  be  theirs  forever,  and  that  they  would  do  well  to 
make  wise  use  of  their  opportunities.  With  direct  aim  at  those 
for  whom  much  had  been  done,  and  who  had  been  selfish  in 
their  blessings,  he  spoke  the  parable  of  Dives  and  Lazarus. 

This  was  a  period  of  parables  with  Jesus.  "Without  a  par- 
able spake  he  not  unto  them."  Among  all  the  parables  uttered 
by  Jesus  none  has  touched  so  many  hearts,  none  has  given  to 
the  world  so  clear  a  view  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  as  that  of 
The  Lost  Son.  It  is  the  center  and  heart  of  a  cluster  of  five 
parables,  apparently  spoken  at  or  about  the  same  time,  and 
is  the  climax  of  th.qt  group  of  three  which  have  always  been 
especially  dear  to  the  children  of  God — The  Lost  Coin,  The 
Lost  Sheep,  The  Lost  Son.  As  the  time  of  Jesus'  crucifixion 
drew  near,  and  the  opposition  of  the  priests  and  Prarisees  was 
culminating  in   plots   against   his   life,   Jesus   began   to   define 


UNTIL    HE     FIND    IT 


321 


more  closely  the  conditions  of  entrance  into  his  kingdom,  to 
show  how  little  it  depended  upon  descent  from  Abraham,  upon 
external  conformity  to  the  law,  or  upon  formal  orthodoxy. 
His  sympathetic  auditors  became  more  exclusively  publicans 
and  sinners,  with  whom,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  he  ate, 
greatly  to  the  scandal  of  his  critics.  "This  man  receiveth  sin- 
ners, and  eateth  with  them!"  was  their  horrified  exclamation. 
The  reply  of  Jesus,  in  substance,  is,  "If  a  man  has  a  hundred 
sheep  and  lose  one,  will  he  receive  it  if  it  return? — nav,  will  he 
not  seek  it,  even  to  the  extent  of  seemin£j  to  neglect  the  rest 


A    PALESTINE    SHEPHERD 


of  his  fiock?  If  a  w^oman  lose  a  tenth  of  her  dowTy,  will  she 
receive  it  if  some  one  find  it  and  hand  it  to  her? — nay,  will 
she  not  search  for  it  with  all  diligence,  and  celebrate  with  joy 
the  finding  of  it?  If  a  man  have  two  sons  and  lose  one,  w^ill 
he  receive  him  wdien  he  returns  to  his  father? — nay,  wall  he 
not  watch  for  him  and  run  to  meet  him  with  joy?" 

We  need  not  take  up  in  detail  the  incidents  of  this  most  per- 
fect story.  It  is  most  comprehensive  of  all  parables.  It  treats 
of  a  soul  prior  to  its  alienation  from  God,  of  its  deflection,  its 
depth  of  sin,  its  repentance,  its  return,    and    its    forgiveness. 


322  JESUS  OF  n.\z.\ri:tii 

There  is  material  here  for  a  treatise  on  systematic  theoloG^y. 
We  can  only  touch  on  a  few  of  its  salient  points. 

First,  let  us  notice  that  the  sinful  son  was  still  a  son.  The 
sheep  which  the  shepherd  sought  was  not  a  p^oat  or  a  wolf; 
it  was  lost,  but  it  still  belonf^ed  to  the  shepherd,  and  he  soui^ht 
it  because  it  was  his  own.  Tlie  coin  which  the  woman  lost  was 
not  at  once  repudiated  as  a  counterfeit :  it  was  still  a  coin  bear- 
\u£:;  the  imag'e  of  the  kin*;-,  and.  though  lost,  belon^'ed  to  the 
woman  who  soui^ht  it ;  and  she  soui;"ht  it  because  it  was  her 
own.  The  prodigal  was  not  an  alien,  born  outside  the  father's 
house  and  rescued  and  adopted:  he  was  a  son  before  he  left 
the  father's  house,  and  to  the  father  he  still  remained  ''my 
son."  "All  souls  are  mine,  saith  the  Lord."  The  sinner  is 
God's.  He  is  not  his  own;  he  is  God's  by  creation,  by  redemp- 
tion, by  every  possible  right.  The  sinner  is  not  a  child  of  the 
devil  whom  God  is  endeavoring  to  lure  away  from  his  own 
paternity  and  give  to  him  a  fictitious  relation  to  himself.  In 
the  image  of  God  man  was  created,  and  whether  he  lives  or 
dies,  lives  righteously  or  sins,  his  life  belongs  to  God. 

Here  was  the  son's  initial  error.  What  he  had  w^as  his  own, 
so  he  thought.  It  rightly  fell  to  him.  He  may  have  flattered 
himself  on  the  just  division  which  he  demanded,  and  even  have 
prided  himself  that  in  demanding  only  a  third,  the  portion  of  a 
younger  son,  when  by  higher  right  he  might  have  thought 
himself  entitled  to  a  half,  he  was  not  only  just  to  the  father, 
but  generous  toward  his  brother.  The  more  carefully  w^e 
analyze  the  young  man's  character  and  study  his  possible 
motives,  the  more  clearly  we  see  how  it  may  furnish  a  parallel 
for  every  defense  which  sin  can  make  for  itself.  What  we  call 
becoming  a  Christian  is  not  the  origin  of  obligation.  To  him 
that  knoweth  to  do  good  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin.  no 
matter  what  he  professes.  The  demand  "Give  me  the  portion 
of  goods  that  falleth  to  me."  while  apparently  a  just  one.  is 
fundamentally  wrong,  for  the  restless  son  is  still  a  son,  and 
subject  to  his  father. 

The  story  of  the  young  man's  downward  career  is  quickly 
told.     We  are  mercifully  spared  its  details,  but  the  harsh  words 


UNTIL     HE     FIND     IT 


323 


of  the  elder  son  supplement  the  narrative  from  the  lips  of  the 
Lord.  The  departure,  the  far  country,  the  waste,  the  riotous 
living — in  quick  succession  these  scenes  come  before  us.  He 
was  received,  no  doubt,  as  a  jolly  good  fellow  while  his  money 
lasted,  but  he  could  have  placed  all  his  friends  in  his  pocket- 


THE   LOST    SHEEl' — (  CAKTO(JX    liV    FRANK    I'.EAKU  ) 


book  after  it  became  empty.  The  friendships  formed  in 
iniquity  are  selfish  and  unsatisfying.  The  prodigal  was  soon 
in  want  and  alone  and  in  a  land  far  from  his  home.  And  then 
came  the  famine.  It  always  comes.  iMan  cannot  live  on  bread 
alone.  The  soul  hungers  for  the  food  of  the  Father's  house, 
and  starves  without  it. 


^_>4  JESL'S    OF    NAZARETH 

No  phrase  could  to  a  Jew  describe  the  terrible  depth  of 
his  fall  so  fitly  as  that  the  citizen  to  whom  he  joined  himself, 
sent  him.  hung^ry  and  unpaid,  to  feed  swine.  Behold  this  child 
of  Abraham,  at  the  sty.  coveting  the  contents  of  the  trough! 
Yet  the  picture  is  not  overdrawn.  Durer.  the  quaint  old  Ger- 
man artist,  drew  the  picture  of  the  prodigal  among  the  swine — 
and  the  face  of  the  prodigal  was  the  artist's  own  portrait.  It 
was  a  confession  such  as  many  a  man  might  make  if  equally 
honest.  How  many  a  young  man  has  been  brought  to  the  gut- 
ter and  to  a  condition  that  is  positively  swinish,  beastly, 
through  a  course  of  dissipation  short  and  swift  as  the  prod- 
igal's! 

Repentance  is  not  sorrow  for  sin.  Sin  and  sorrow  are  very 
intimately  related.  To  be  sorry  for  sin  is  often  a  long  way 
from  repentance.  "A  godly  sorrow  w^orketh  repentance,  but 
the  sorrow  of  the  world  worketh  death."  Sorrow  for  sin  may 
be  of  either  kind.  That  a  man  is  sorry  for  his  sin  is  hopeful, 
but  it  is  not  enough.  Wishing  one  were  back  in  the  father's 
house  does  not  change  the  trough  to  a  laden  table.  The  son 
may  contrast  his  condition  with  that  of  his  father's  servants, 
and  yet  never  again  become  a  son.  Repentance  embraces 
three  stages — a  perception  of  the  guilt  of  sin,  a  feeling  of 
remorse,  and  a  turning  to  God.  The  test  of  the  first  two  is 
the  third.  Repentance  is  a  turning  again  to  God,  and  is  the 
only  condition  on  which  the  sinner  can  be  recognized  again 
as  a  son. 

The  prodigal's  repentance  was  genuine,  but  his  theology 
was  defective.  He  reasoned  it  all  out;  how  he  had  forfeited  all 
his  rights  in  the  household,  how  he  could  never  be  a  son  after 
having  repudiated  the  relation,  how  even  his  father  could  do 
no  more  for  him  in  the  way  of  inheritance,  but  how  it  might 
be  possible  to  become  a  servant.  His  system  of  theology  was 
fully  as  Biblical  as  some  that  ha\'e  been  taught  in  our  schools, 
and,  like  them,  it  answered  verv  well  while  it  lasted.  Even 
defective  systems  have  their  mission  and  their  dav.  The  son 
might  have  had  less  courage  to  come  back  had  he  anticipated 
the  extent  of  the  father's  abilitv  to  receive  him.    The  teachings 


UNTIL     HE     FIND     IT 


3^5 


of  other  days,  in  which  men  came  to  God  with  less  easy-goini^- 
assurance  that  God  could  easily  overlook  sin,  was  not  without 
its  advantages.  Oin-  view  of  the  case  is  more  nearly  correct, 
no  doubt,  but  one  could  sometimes  wish  that  men  would  come 
to  God  more  as  the  prodigal  came  back  and  less  as  he  came 
the  first  time  to  his  father,  expecting  God's  1)ountv  as  a  right 
assured. 

t 


THE    prodigal's    REPENTANCE — (dURER.     I504) 

So  the  son  trudges  back,  all  the  long,  weary  w^ay,  rehearsing 
as  he  goes  his  little  speech  to  be  made  to  his  father.  He  will 
not  go  to  the  front  door  and  ring:  he  will  go,  as  he  remembers 
that  in  his  youth  the  tramps  came,  to  the  kitchen  door.  He 
will  not  be  refused  a  crust  there,  he  well  knows.  He  will  ask 
to  see  his  father,  who  will  come  out  to  learn  what  a  tramp  can 
want  with  him.    He  will  anticipate  his  father's  stern  rebuke  and 


326  JESUS    OF    NAZARKTH 

forestall  his  possible  rejeetion.  It  is  not  as  a  son.  bnt  as  a 
servant,  that  he  wishes  to  return.  He  will  hasten  to  tell  his 
father  so. 

Mow  different  from  his  anticipation  was  his  reception!  With 
increasing  years  and  growing  infirmities,  the  father  daily  sits 
where  he  can  look  down  the  nxid  where  years  ago.  beyond  the 
hill,  he  lost  sight  of  his  wayward  boy.  The  father  has  never 
ceased  to  look  for  him.  though  all  others  speak  his  name  only 
with  re])roach.  There  can  have  been  no  mother  in  that  home. 
All  fatherlv.  all  motherly  love  are  in  the  l)osom  of  our  Heavenly 
Father. 

The  son  draws  nearer  to  his  home.  He  is  footsore  and 
weary  and  ragged  and  travel-stained.  No  one,  he  reflects  bit- 
terly, will  know  him.  He  passes  houses  where  he  once  played: 
he  sees  old  companions  in  their  doors  and  in  their  fields;  he 
knows  them  and  shrinks  to  the  other  side  of  the  road  as  he 
passes,  but  his  precaution  is  needless — to  them  he  is  but  a 
tramp.  The  home  is  in  sight;  his  heart  almost  fails  him;  he 
is  half  tempted  now  to  turn  back.  What  if  his  father  shoukl 
be  unforgiving?  What,  ah!  what  if  he  should  be  dead — dead, 
perhaps  by  reason  of  a  broken  heart?  He  has  hardly  strength 
to  go  farther.  He  cannot  go  on,  yet  he  must.  Again  he  calls 
to  his  mind  the  words  he  means  to  speak,  and  plods  onward, 
the  words  choking  him  as  he  speaks  them.  But  w'ho  is  tint 
that  sits  in  the  door?  It  cannot  be,  and  yet  it  must  be — so 
much  older,  so  much  feebler,  yet  the  same  form — it  is.  ic  is  his 
father.  He  is  rising  from  his  seat;  he  leans  upon  his  staff; 
he  is  not  so  erect  or  strong  as  he  once  was.  He  is  looking 
this  way.  He  shades  his  eyes  and  looks  again.  A  moment 
of  hesitation,  and  the  strength  of  years  comes  to  the  father 
with  that  glad  recognition!  The  son  was  expecting  to  have 
to  introduce  himself.  "But  when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off, 
his  father  saw  him,"  and  knew  him. 

The  son's  little  address  was  only  half  delivered.  The  father 
had  no  time  to  hear  it.  It  was  enough  that  the  son  had 
returned.  The  suffering  of  years  was  at  an  end,  ana  he  who 
came  wath  half-hearted  hopes  of  becoming  a  servant,  foun<l 
himself  through  the  abounding  love  of  the  father,  a  son  again. 


UNTIL     HE     FIND     IT 


327 


Behold  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon 
us,  that  we  who  have  been  prodigals  should  be  called  again 
the  sons  of  God!  Having  forsaken  God,  he  has  never  forsaken 
us,  and  through  his  unbroken  paternity  we  receive  the  spirit 
of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father,  the  Spirit  bearing 


THE   GOOD    SHEPHERD — (DOBSON) 


witness  with  our  spirits  that  we  are  the  sons  of  God.  Beloved, 
even  now,  after  our  sin,  and  before  our  complete  sanctifica- 
tion,  are  we  the  sons  of  God.  It  is  no  mere  hard  and  fast  law, 
no  quid  pro  quo,  no  bargain  of  so  much  morality  for  so  much 
salvation,  bv  virtue  of  which  we  come  back  to  our  Father's 


328 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


house.  We  are  free  from  the  law.  We  are  not  servants  but 
sons.  We  sometimes  wish  that  the  con(Htions  of  salvation 
were  more  definite,  tliat  we  might  tell  men  just  what  good 
thing  they  must  do  to  be  saved.  God  has  left  them  as  they  are 
with  intent.  We  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again 
to  fear,  but  the  Si)irit  where1)y  we  cry  Father,  and  God  says, 
"This  my  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again;  he  was  lost,  and 
is  found." 

Here  our  expositions  commonly  stop.  But  it  was  for  the 
elder  son  that  Jesus  spoke  the  parable.  These  Pharisees,  com- 
placent in  their  years  of  legal  service  and  expecting  a  gener- 
ous reward  from  heaven,  these  were  the  elder  sons,  unbrotherly 
and  unfilial!  How  the  parable  must  have  rebuked  them!  But 
to  the  publicans  and  to  poor  prodigals  since,  it  has  been  a 
never-failing  inspiration  and  blessing. 


the  good  shepherd  of  the  four  seasons 
(from  the  catacomb  of  saint  calixtus) 


CHAPTER  XXXI 


THE  GOOD  SHEPHERD 

The  Feast  of  the  Dedication  was  not  a  BibHcal  feast.  It  was 
estabHshed  by  Judas  Maccabreus  in  164  B.  C,  when  Jerusalem 
was  recaptured  from  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  and  the  temple 
which  he  had  desecrated  was  purified  and  rededicated.  It  was 
a  festival  of  light,  being  often  called  'The  feast  of  lights,"  and 
was  celebrated  with  joy.  John  alone  tells  us  of  Jesus'  attend- 
ance, and  that  the  place  of  his  teaching  was  Solomon's  porch. 
This  porch  was  the  long  covered  corridor  running  the 
length  of  the  temple  area  on  the  side  overlooking  the  Kedron 
valley  and  the  Mount  of  Olives.  There,  a  little  sheltered  from 
the  wind,  but  approachable  by  a  great  throng,  Jesus  met  the 
people,  who  demanded,  "How  long  dost  thou  hold  us  in  sus- 
pense? If  thou  art  the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly."  Jesus  answered 
them,  "I  told  you,  and  ye  believe  not:  the  works  that  I  do  in 
my  Father's  name,  these  bear  witness  of  me.  But  ye  believe 
not,  because  ye  are  not  of  my  sheep"  (John  10:  24-27). 

Again,  as  at  the  autumn  feast,  the  Jews  took  up  stones  to 
stone  him,  but  Jesus  did  not  at  once  seek  to  escape  as  before. 
Instead,  he  faced  them  and  demanded  a  reason  for  their  act 
of  violence.  He  said:  "Many  good  works  have  I  shewed  you 
from  the  Father;  for  which  of  these  works  do  ye  stone  me?" 
They  answered  they  were  about  to  stone  him  for  making  him- 
self equal  with  God.  Jesus  met  them  with  a  quotation  from 
one  of  the  Psalms,  "I  said,  ye  are  gods"  (Ps.  82:  6).  The 
Psalmist  was  talking  about  men,  and  not  very  good  men  at 
that;  yet  he  called  them  gods,  because,  in  their  oflficial  state 
they  represented  a  measure  of  divine  authority.  Jesus  had  not 
said,  "I  am  God."  He  had  claimed  less  than  possibly  might 
have  been  deduced  from  the  Old  Testament  quotation  as  to 

329 


330  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

these  men  who  were  born  to  die.  I^herefore,  he  said.  "If 
he  called  them  gods,  unto  whom  the  word  of  God  came  (and 
the  scripture  cannot  be  broken),  sav  ve  of  him.  whom  the 
Father  sanctified  and  sent  into  the  world,  Tlioii  blasphemest; 
because  I  said.  I  am  the  Son  of  God?  If  I  do  not  the  works 
of  my  Father,  believe  me  not.  Ihit  if  T  do  them,  though  ye 
believe  not  me.  believe  the  works;  that  ye  may  know  and 
understand  that  the  Father  is  in  me,  and  I  in  the  Father"  (John 
lo:  35-38). 

The  people  were  argued  down,  but  unconvinced,  and  they 
resorted  to  stones.  A  stone  is  a  great  convenience  when  logic 
fails.  So  Jesus  escaped  again  as  best  he  could,  and  retur.ied 
to  Perrea. 

While  on  this  winter  visit  to  Jerusalem  Jesus  appears  to 
have  been  entertained  by  ]Mary  and  Martha  and  Lazarus,  and 
this  may  have  been  the  time  that  Martha  worried  over  the 
housework. 

We  are  not  sure  that  we  know  any  other  facts  relating  to 
this  visit  of  Christ  to  Jerusalem.  One  discourse,  that  on  the 
Good  Shepherd  and  one  incident,  the  healing  on  the  Sabbath 
day  of  the  man  born  blind,  stand  in  John's  account  after  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles  and  before  the  Feast  of  the  Dedication. 
They  evidently  occurred  at  Jerusalem  at  one  of  tliese  two 
feasts.  The  discourse  on  the  Good  Shepherd  appears  the  nat- 
ural introduction  to  the  discourse  of  Jesus  delivered  in  Solo- 
mon's porch,  and  the  controversy  about  the  Sabbath  seems 
more  naturally  to  have  occurred  at  the  later  feast.  At  all 
events,  we  consider  them  briefly  here. 

The  story  of  the  man  born  blind  is  told  in  John  9:  i-ii. 
"And  as  he  passed  by,  he  saw  a  man  blind  from  his  birth.  And 
his  disciples  asked  him,  saying,  Rabbi,  who  did  sin,  this  man, 
or  his  parents,  that  he  should  be  born  blind?  Jesus  answered. 
Neither  did  this  man  sin,  nor  his  parents:  but  that  the  works 
of  God  should  be  made  manifest  in  him.  We  must  work  the 
works  of  him  that  sent  me,  while  it  is  day:  the  night  cometh, 
when  no  man  can  work.  When  I  am  in  the  world,  I  am  the 
light  of  the  world.     When  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  spat  on  the 


THE     GOOD     SHEPHERD 


331 


ground,  and  made  clay  of  the  spittle,  and  anointed  his  eyes 
with  the  clay,  and  said  unto  him,  Go,  wash  in  the  pool  of 
Siloam  (which  is  by  interpretation.  Sent).  He  went  away 
therefore,  and  washed,  and  came  seeing.  The  neighbors  there- 
fore, and  they  which  saw  him  aforetime,  that  he  was  a  beggar, 
said.  Is  not  this  he  that  sat  and  begged?  Others  said,  It  is  he: 
others  said.  Xo,  but  he  is  like  him.     He  said.  I  am  he.     They 


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THE    POOL   OF   SILOAM 


said  therefore  unto  him.  How  then  were  thine  eyes  opened?  He 
answered,  The  man  that  is  called  Jesus  made  clay,  and  anointed 
mine  eyes,  and  said  unto  me,  Go  to  Siloam,  and  wash:  so  I 
went  awav  and  washed,  and  I  received  siefht." 

The  pool  of  Siloam  is  still  in  existence.  It  is  fifty-two  feet 
long  and  eighteen  wide.  The  water  in  it  is  dirty  now,  but  it 
was  probably  not  so  in  Christ's  day.     Josephus  describes  it  as 


ZZ2 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


sweet  and  abundant.  The  water  flows  into  it  from  the  "Foun- 
tain of  the  \'irgin"  as  it  is  called,  the  only  spring  in  Jerusalem, 
through  a  canal  five  hundred  and  eighty-six  yards  long.  In 
1880,  a  small  boy,  bathing  in  the  pool,  discovered  an  inscrip- 
tion which  proved  to  be  the  oldest  known  specimen  of  Hebrew, 
dating  from  about  700  B.  C.  It  is  now  in  the  national  museum 
in  Constantinople,  where  I  saw  it  in  1902.  It  relates  that  the 
channel  w^as  begun  from  both  ends,  and  that  the  workmen,  as 
they  neared  each  other,  heard  the  sound  of  each  other's  tools, 
and  found  themselves  only  half  a  cubit  out  of  line  at  the  meet- 
ing point.  The  channel  has  since  been  examined,  and  this 
was  found  to  be  true. 


THE    SILOAM     INSCRIPTION 


To  this  pool  the  man  went  and  washed,  and  came  seeing.  A 
great  controversy  arose,  because  the  work  of  healing  had  been 
done  on  the  Sabbath. 

We  are  impressed  again  with  the  pains  which  Jesus  took  to 
disregard  current  ideas  of  the  proper  method  of  Sabbath 
observance.  It  was  not  necessary  to  heal  the  blind  man  on 
that  particular  day.  Jesus  would  be  in  Jerusalem  the  next  day 
and  so  would  the  man.  The  man  was  not  expecting  to  be 
healed,  and  had  been  so  long  blind  that  a  day  of  blindness  more 
or  less  was  inconsiderable  to  him.  Had  Jesus  counted  it  worth 
while  to  carry  Paul's  principle  of  not  eating  meat  because  of 
the  weak  brother's  prejudice  to  such  a  length  as  might  easily 


THE  GOOD  SHEPHERD 


333 


be  imagined,  he  would  have  charged  the  man  to  meet  him — 
and  the  man  would  ha\'e  gone  far  to  meet  him — on  the 
morrow. 

Moreover.  Jesus  made  unusual  and  unnecessary  appearance 
of  labor  in  this  very  cure.  It  w^as  not  his  custom  on  week  days 
to  make  clay  and  anoint  the  eyes  of  blind  men,  or  to  send 
them  far  to  wash.  The  labor  on  his  ow^i  part  and  on  the  part 
of  the  man  was  made  especially  prominent  in  this  Sabbath 
cure. 


LEADING     FORTH     THE     SHEEP 


Christ's  works  of  mercy  had  ever  respect  to  something  more 
than  institutional  religion.  Here  was  a  real  ministration  to 
real  human  need.  There  were  many  blind  men  in  Israel,  and 
more  in  the  world,  whom  he  did  not  meet  and  did  not  heal. 
But  Jesus  never  found  in  the  physical  impossibility  of  minister- 
ing to  all  the  needy,  an  excuse  for  passing  the  individual  within 
reach.  It  w^as  genuine  pity,  a  pity  born  of  divine  sorrow  and 
sympathy,  a  pity  resident  in  a  heart  that  could  know  bv  experi- 
ence the  keenness  of  human  sorrow  and  the  intensity  of  human 
pain,  that  manifested  itself  in  Christ's  works  of  healing.     He 


:^34  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

always  healed  the  man  at  hand.  There  were  blind  men  in 
plenty,  and  had  been  for  unnumbered  o^enerations,  who  knew 
not  that  earth  rejoiced  at  the  footstep  upon  it  of  one  who 
opened  the  eyes  of  men  born  blind.  There  are  blind  men  now, 
living  in  lands  hopelessly  beyond  the  reach  of  our  dispensaries 
and  hospitals,  whom  modern  skill  mig-ht  cure.  But  the  man 
who  has  the  love  of  Christ  will  never  fail  to  do  the  thing  he 
may  do,  because  he  cannot  do  all.  Just  here  is  our  temptation. 
We  know  so  well  the  world's  need.  The  morning  paper  lays 
at  our  doors  the  sufferers  from  a  railroad  wreck  here,  a  tor- 
nado there,  a  flood  yonder,  an  epidemic  somewhere  else,  a 
strike  in  a  factory  a  thousand  miles  away,  a  shut-down  in  a 
coal  mine  still  farther,  and  farthest  of  all,  perhaps,  a  sweat- 
shop within  rifle  shot  of  our  own  homes.  And  we  cannot  help 
all.  We  run  a  gauntlet  of  appeals  for  objects  which  we  have 
not  time  to  investigate.  "Give  to  every  one  that  asketh  of 
thee,"  said  the  Lord.  "Give  to  no  one,"  says  the  of^cial  in 
charge,  "send  them  to  the  associated  charities,  and  draw  your 
annual  check  in  favor  of  its  treasury."  Yes;  and  yet.  let  no 
Christian  fail  to  have  some  little  share  in  personal  relief  of  suf- 
fering. It  is  better  to  be  imposed  upon  sometimes  than  to 
harden  one's  heart  all  the  time.  It  is  better  that  we  shall  not 
fail  to  do  the  good  w^e  may.  because  we  cannot  do  it  all. 

Light  and  darkness,  sight  and  blindness,  are  used  so  fre- 
quently and  so  helpfully  as  analogies  of  righteousness  and  sin. 
that  we  always  think,  and  rightly,  of  those  other  cases  of  heal- 
ing which  Jesus  performed  and  still  performs,  in  giving  sight 
to  those  who  are  blinded  by  sin.  For  such  analogies  we  have 
the  best  of  authority  in  Christ's  ow^n  words.  "I  am  the  light 
of  the  world." 

The  whole  world  was  lost  in  the  darkness  of  sin. 

The  light  of  the  world  is  Jesus: 
Like   sunshine  at  noonday  his   glory   shone  in. 

The  light  of  the  world  is  Jesus. 

However  limited  was,  and  still  must  be.  the  work  of  healing- 
physical  ills,  no  soul  turns  to  Jesus  a  spiritual  vision  clouded 
by  sin,  with  a  prayer    for    healing    and    spiritual    sight,    but 


THE     GOOD     SHEPHERD 


335 


becomes  able  to  testify  with  this  man  born  blind,  "One  thing- 
I  know,  that,  whereas  I  was  blind,  now  I  see."  This  is  the 
testimony  which  is  bringing-  the  world  to  Christ.  The  healed 
man  may  or  may  not  be  a  logician;  he  may  or  may  not  be  able 
to  argue  with  the  priests;  but  one  thing  the  convert  is  able 
to  testify,  and  his  testimony,  supported  by  a  holy  life,  the 
world  is  ready  to  believe;  and  it  can  never  wholly  convince 


THE    SHEPHERD    OF    JERUSALEM 

itself  that  the  Saviour  is  not  from  Heaven  who  bring-s  light 
to  darkened  souls. 

The  man  born  blind  was  cast  out  of  the  temple  for  his  faith 
in  Jesus,  but  Jesus  escaped  the  wrath  of  the  priests.  To  him 
Jesus  declared  his  divine  Sonship,  and  the  man's  spiritual  eyes 
were  opened  to  receive  him  as  the  Christ. 

Jesus  appears  to  have  followed  the  miracle  with  the  discourse 
on  the  Good  Shepherd.     This  name,  which  he  gave  to  himself. 


336  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

was  so  beautiful  in  its  symbolism  and  so  in  harmony  with  the 
words  of  the  prophets  and  with  one    of    Christ's    own    most 
precious  parables,  that  it  has  become  one  of  the  dearest  of  all 
the  names  by  which  the  Saviour  is  known  to  the  hearts  of  his 
followers.     In  ridin^^  through  Palestine  I  repeatedly  saw  shep- 
herds whose  care  of  their  flocks  reminded  me  of  the  descrip- 
tions.    The  shepherd  goes  before  his  flock  and  the  sheep  fol- 
low; the  shepherd  calls  the  sheep,  and  they  respond    to    no 
other  voice.     All  this  we  saw  as  we  journeyed  through  Galilee 
and  Samaria  and  Judaea.     Repeatedly  I  saw  shepherds  carrying 
lambs  in  their  arms,  and  once  I  saw  one  carrying  two  Httle 
kids  in  his  bosom.     One  Sunday  we  held  a  memorable  service 
in  Jerusalem,  on  Calvary,  and  as  we  finished  a  shepherd  came 
over  the  hill,  leading  his  sheep.     The  sheep  were  somewhat 
disconcerted  by  the  tourists,  and  he  had  difficulty  in  keeping 
them  together,  but  he  did  it.     I  caught  a  very  imperfect  pho- 
tograph of  him.     I  could  wish  the  picture  itself  much  better, 
but  imperfect  as  it  is  I  count  it  worth  reproducing,   as  the 
picture  of  a  modern  Jerusalem  shepherd  leading  his  flock  over 
the  place  where  the  Good  Shepherd  laid  down  his  life  for  the 
sheep. 

Jesus  announced  to  those  bigoted  Jews  that  he  had  other 
sheep,  not  of  that  fold,  and  that  these  were  to  be  brought  into 
the  flock  of  the  one  Shepherd.  It  was  strange  doctrine  to 
them,  but  is  the  essence  of  the  gospel  to  us. 

One  of  the  greatest  and  most  characteristic  contrasts  be- 
tween Judaism  and  Christianity,  and  one  of  the  hardest  for  the 
apostles  who  had  been  Jews  to  adjust  themselves  to,  was  found 
in  this  element  of  inclusiveness  in  the  new  religion.  Here  was 
the  glory  of  the  apostle  Paul,  who  would  not  test  his  apos- 
tolic mission  nor  the  rights  of  his  converts  by  any  of  the  con- 
ventions of  Judaism..  Himself  a  Jew  he  was  willing  to  become 
as  without  the  law,  that  he  might  save  them  without  law.  It 
was  precisely  over  this  point  that  the  life  and  death  struggle 
occurred  between  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christianity. 

As  God  had  other  sheep  than  the  Jews,  so  he  now  has  other 
sheep  than  those  who  profess  to  be  his.     Some  of  them  are 


THE  GOOD  SHEPHERD 


337 


not  known  as  his  by  any  save  the  Shepherd  himself.  It  is  hard 
to  tell  by  what  mark  the}-  could  be  known  as  his.  For  what 
is  so  unclean  as  a  soiled  sheep?  And  what  so  helpless  as  a  lost 
sheep?  We  need  not  forget  that  the  sinner  is  still  a  child  of 
God,  but  what  is  so  unfilial  as  a  disobedient  child?  Sin  is 
hideous,  deliberate,  loathsome.  It  is  not  simply  brutal;  it  is 
often  worse,  because  intelligence  which  should  have  prevented 
it,  adds  to  it  a  refinement  of  shamefulness  which  mocks  the 
word  brutality.  But  even  the  sheep  that  is  most  drabbled  and 
fouled  by  sin,  God  is  seeking,  that  there  may  be  one  flock  and 
one  Shepherd. 

There  is  no  principle  of  unity  that  can  unite,  save  that  which 
holds  men  to  a  common  center.  The  planets  are  not  all  alike. 
They  have  different  orbits,  different  lengths  of  year,  different 
lengths  of  day  and  kinds  of  day,  and  varieties  of  atmosphere 
and  of  season  and  of  life.  But  they  form  together  a  harmonious 
unit  because  they  are  held  to  a  common  sun.  So  the  way  in 
which  we  are  to  have  one  flock,  is  in  the  possession  of  one 
Shepherd. 


THE  GOOD   SHEPHERD — CmOLITOR) 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

THE  RAISING  OF  LAZARUS 

Sacred  are  the  memories  that  cluster  aroimcl  the  Httle  town 
of  Bethany.  He  who  stands  on  the  Mount  of  Ohves  and  looks 
about  him  locates  the  village  at  once,  situated  on  its  shoulder, 
and  around  the  summit  from  Jerusalem.  Here,  he  who  had 
not  where  to  la}'  his  head,  had  always  a  warm  welcome  in  the 
home  of  his  friends. 

The  first  recorded  visit  of  Jesus  to  Bethany  appears  to  have 
been  at  the  time  of  Jesus'  winter  visit  to  Jerusalem  at  the 
Feast  of  the  Dedication.  December  20-27.  A.  D.  29  (Luke 
10:  38-42),  but  the  narrative  seems  to  imply  a  longer  and  more 
intimate  acquaintance.  Jesus  returned  a  month  later  at  the 
call,  "Lord,  he  whom  thou  lovest  is  sick."  and  brought  joy  to 
the  household  that  loved  him  (John  11:1-46).  Two  months 
later,  arriving  in  Bethany  on  the  day  before  the  Sabbath, 
he  was  anointed  by  Alary  (John  12:2-11).  From  Bethany  he 
entered  Jerusalem  on  Palm  Sunday,  and  returned  at  night  to 
the  home  of  his  friends.  Monday  and  Tuesday  he  did  the 
same.  Wednesday  he  spent  in  retirement,  apparently  in 
Bethany.  Thursday  he  left  the  village  that  was  dear  to  him 
to  celebrate  the  passover  in  the  city  with  his  disciples.  He 
did  not  return  until  after  bis  resurrection,  when.  "He  led  them 
out  as  far  as  Bethany;  and  he  lifted  up  his  hands  and  blessed 
them.  And  it  came  to  pass,  while  he  blessed  them,  he  was 
parted  from   them,   and   carried   up   into   heaven"    (Luke   24: 

All  these  memories  endear  Bethany  to  the  pilgrim  of  to-day. 

Twice  I  visited  Bethany.  It  is  full  of  a  crowd  of  insistent 
beggars,  and  is  far  more  picturesque  when  seen  from  without. 
But  there  is  a  wonderful  fascination  about  the  place,  notwith- 

338 


THE    RAISING    OF    LAZARUS 


339 


Standing.  Life  there  is  as  primitive  as  in  the  time  of  Jesus.  I 
found  a  woman  spinning-  with  a  (hstaff  as  simple  as  Mary  or 
Martha  ever  used.  I  give  her  picture  as  she  sat  by  the  wall, 
twirling  her  stick  with  a  round  small  balance  wheel  at  the  top, 
and  winding  her  coarse  yarn  on  the  spindle  below.  T  bought 
the  simple  contrivance,  and  see  it  before  me  as  I  write,  and  it 
brings  back  the  life  of  that  home  that  Jesus  enjoyed  so  well. 
The  Bethany  home  was  not  a  home  of  poverty.  The  family 
could  entertain,  could  give  a  feast,  owned  a  garden,  and  had 
three  hundred  days'  wages  ready  to  invest  in  a  rich  gift  to 


MODERN    BETHANY 


Jesus.  Neither  was  it  a  home  of  ostentatious  wealth.  It  was 
a  home  cared  for  by  the  sisters  themselves,  but  one  where 
hospitality  was  no  burden,  and  love  made  large  things  pos- 
sible. 

To  this  home  Jesus  was  recalled  from  Per?ea  by  the  message 
that  Lazarus  was  sick.  The  family  knew  where  to  find  him; 
they  were  among  his  confidants.  Strangely,  Jesus  did  not  go 
at  once,  but  announced  that  the  sickness  was  not  unto  death. 
But  Lazarus  died,  and  had  been  buried  four  days  when  Jesus 
arrived. 


340 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


It  was  Martha  who  met  him  on  the  road,  outside  the  vil- 
lage. "Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had  not 
died,"  said  she.  This  was  the  first  word  of  Mary,  too.  The  sis- 
ters had  said  it  over  and  over  to  each  other  these  last  four 
days.  But  Martha  added  that  she  knew  that  even  now  what- 
ever he  asked  of  God,  God  w'ould  do.  She  w^as  not  expecting 
Lazarus  to  rise:  she  only  knew  that  in  some  way  the  coming 


A    MODERN    MARTHA    OF    BETHANY    SPINNING 


of  Jesus  was  to  be  a  source  of  comfort.  Jesus  said:  "Thy 
brother  shall  rise  again.  Martha  saith  unto  him,  I  know  that 
he  shall  rise  again  in  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day.  Jesus 
said  unto  her,  I  am  the  resurrection,  and  the  life:  he  that 
believeth  on  me,  though  he  die,  yet  shall  he  live:  and  whoso- 
ever liveth  and  believeth  on  me  shall  never  die  (John  ii: 
23-26). 


THE    RAISING    OF    LAZARUS 


341 


Martha  did  not  know  what  to  answer.  She  did  not  fully 
understand  him;  neither  do  we.  She  thought  Mary  might 
know  what  to  say.  She  did  not  wait  for  Jesus  to  ask  for  Mary 
but  hastened  to  call  her.  saying,  "The  Master  is  come,  and 
calleth  for  thee."     But  before  she  went  she  put  herself  on  rec- 


THE   RAISING    OF    LAZARUS 
(SEBASTIAN    DEL    PIOMBO,     I485-I547) 


ord  as  to  faith  in  Christ.  "She  saith  unto  him,  Yea.  Lord:  I 
have  beheved  that  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  even 
he  that  cometh  into  the  world"  (John  1 1 :  27). 

She  did  not  directly  answer  Christ's  question  as  to  the  resur- 
rection, but  expressed  her  faith  in  him.     It  was  not  faith  in 


342 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


a  fact,  but  faith  in  Jesus  himself.  It  was  quite  as  i^ood  faith 
as  inspired  Peter's  great  confession,  and  it  forever  redeems 
domestic  Martha  from  the  charge  of  being  unspiritual. 

They  show  a  tomb  in  Bethany  which  they  call  the  tomb  of 
Lazarus.     It  mav  or  may  not  be  authentic.     One  climbs  down 


THE   kAi.-lNu   OF   LAZARUS — (KLBEX.S.    I577-I64O) 


dark  stairs  by  candle-light  and  stands  in  the  vault  below  with 
a  sense  of  awe  and  wonder.  In  some  such  tomb  Lazarus  lay, 
perhaps  in  this  very  one.  Here  Death  heard  and  obeyed  the 
voice  of  Jesus,  and  gave  back  its  prey.  One  climbs  back  to 
the  light  with  a  wholly  different  sensation  than  that  with 
which  he  descended  into  the  cave.     The  light  of  dav  is  in  his 


THE    RAISING    OF    LAZARUS 


343 


face,  and  the  words  of  Jesus  are  in  his  ears,  "I  am  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  hfe." 

The  resurrection  of  Lazarus  became  a  new  incentive  to  hos- 
tiHty  on  the  part  of  the  Jews.  They  determined  to  put  both 
Jesus  and  Lazarus  to  death.  But  the  miracle  furnished  a  new 
witness  for  Jesus.  When  the  feast  was  served  in  the  home  of 
Martha  and  Mary,  the  Jews  came  not  only  to  see  Jesus,  but 


'"^m 

t^M 

L .          iHtt£^  '^'^^S 

'  -     '.-i 

J,:^'mi^^^'. 

^  -    '^  ^-~  y-  .j..( 

^^^1..  ^v^f^PI^^^^^I 

^■if'^BK'~       ^^^^^^^ 

fl 

7^.v---'^^ill^r^.- 

.  /-i  ■      ^       ■     _ 

THE    TOMB    OF    LAZARUS 


Lazarus.  The  livino-  Lazarus  seated  by  the  side  of  Jesus 
became  a  mighty  witness  of  his  power.  From  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  gospel  narrative,  the  words  which  we  so 
gladly  would  hear  from  the  lips  of  one  with  his  experience, 
remain  unspoken,  nor  is  there  any  specific  act  of  Lazarus 
which  we  can  count  as  a  direct  testimony  for  Jesus.  It  is  the 
silent  witness  of  his  presence,  the  presence  of  one    who    has 


344  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

been  raised  from  the  dead  at  the  voice  of  Jesus.  It  was  this 
that  brought  the  Jews  to  see  him;  it  was  he  who  made  the 
power  of  Christ  incontestable.  On  that  occasion  when  the 
Jews  were  stopping  at  nothing  which  might  promote  their 
ends,  it  was  not  the  divine  power  of  Christ  directly  exerted  for 
his  own  salvation,  that  prevented  their  success.  It  was  rather 
the  testimony  of  two  men,  one  dead  and  the  other  living;  the 
one  was  John  the  Baptist,  whose  name  Christ  invoked  in  such 
a  way  that  the  Jewish  leaders  never  rallied  from  the  dilemma 
in  which  he  placed  them,  and  the  other  was  Lazarus.  He  was 
one  of  the  living  evidences  of  Christianity;  he  was  an  indisput- 
able proof  of  the  power  of  Christ ;  he  was  an  incontestable  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  divinity  of  Jesus. 

There  are  some  kinds  of  Christian  testimony  which  depend 
on  ability,  scholarship  and  external  opportunity.  There  is  one 
which  is  relatively  independent  of  these  things;  so  far  as  we 
know  Lazarus  spoke  no  word  which  confuted  the  adversaries 
of  Christ.  He  did  not  become  a  logician;  we  have  no  dog- 
matic treatise  of  his  upon  Christian  evidences  or  systematic 
theology.  That  which  proved  his  potent  witness  was  the  sim- 
ple truth  that  Jesus  had  raised  him  from  the  dead.  The  incon- 
testable evidence  that  a  man  is  walking  with  Christ  in  newness 
of  life,  makes  him  a  witness  of  the  same  sort  to  prove  and 
illustrate  and  amplify  the  gospel. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN 

After  the  raising  of  Larazus,  Jesus  retired  to  a  village  called 
Ephraim,  "in  the  country  near  the  wilderness"  (John  1 1 :  54). 
This  town  is  not  mentioned  in  Scripture,  but  is  believed  by 
Robinson  and  others  to  be  identical  with  the  Opiirah  of  I. 
Sam.  13:  17  and  Josh.  18:  23,  and  with  the  modern  et-Taiybeh 
(Robinson  i :  447). 

The  route  of  the  last  journey  to  Jerusalem  led  him  from 
Ephraim  through  the  borders  of  Samaria  and  Galilee  and 
again  through  Perc-ea.  Journeying  onward  he  was  asked  by 
the  Pharisees  when  the  kingdom  of  God  was  to  come.  It  was 
a  question  that  seemed  timely.  Jesus  had  been  preaching  about 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  for  a  long  time.  When  was  it  to  come? 
Jesus  answered,  "The  kingdom  of  God  cometh  not  with  obser- 
vation: neither  shall  they  say,  Lo,  here!  or.  there!  for  lo,  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  within  you"  (Luke  17:  20-21). 

It  was  a  definite  reply  to  the  carnal  hopes  of  the  Jews.  The 
kingdom  was  not  of  this  world.  Its  glories  were  spiritual,  and 
through  .spiritual  ends  it  was  to  transform  the  world.  The 
very  face  of  nature  has  been  changed  by  man.  Its  fertile  fields, 
its  noble  landscapes,  its  cultivated  plants  and  grains  and  trees, 
have  been  wrought  of  God  through  man.  God's  kingdom  is 
over  all  this,  and  all  is  included  in  the  redemption  of  Christ. 
There  is  a  cosmic  redemption.  There  is  a  political  redemj)- 
tion.  But  it  is  first  of  all  a  redemption  personal  and  social, 
widening  its  sphere  in  concentric  circles  like  the  ripples  that 
increase  from  the  dropping  of  a  stone  till  they  reach  the  shores 
of  the  lake  on  every  side.  Jesus  was  doing  his  best  to  let  men 
understand,  what  still  many  fail  to  realize,  that  the  kingdom 
is  a  kingdom  of  the  soul.     Its  endeavor  is  to  crown  Christ  king 

34"; 


346  JESUS    OF    NAZARKTIi 

in  society  and  literature,  in  art  and  business  and  politics,  and 
in  the  relations  of  the  nations. 

Jesus  was  asked  all  kinds  of  (]uestions — and  among-  the  rest, 
one  as  to  the  right  of  a  man  to  divorce  his  wife.  Jesus  did 
not  undertake  to  settle,  as  has  often  been  assumed,  the  whole 
problem  of  divorce.  But  he  answered  the  inquiry  concerning- 
that  single  phase  of  the  question,  the  right  of  a  man  to  put  away 
his  wife  for  a  minor  cause.  He  declared  that  he  who  does  so 
is  an  adulterer.  Thus  plainly  Jesus  established  purity  of  life 
and  the  stability  of  the  home  as  essential  qualities  of  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

Then  ensued  one  of  the  tenderest  and  most  beautiful  scenes 
in  the  Gospels,  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  the  chap- 
ter on  Jesus  and  the  children — that  of  the  blessing  of  the  chil- 
dren. The  disciples  forbade  the  fond  mothers,  but  Jesus 
encouraged  them  to  come  to  him.  He  did  more  than  bless  the 
children:  he  declared  the  childlike  spirit  to  be  the  fundamental 
condition  of  entrance  to  the  kingdom  (Luke  i8:  i6,  17). 

Just  after  this  incident  a  rich  young  ruler,  moral,  upright, 
earnest,  came  seeking  what  lie  had  not  yet  found  in  his  spiiit- 
ual  life.  Jesus  loved  him,  for  he  had  kept  the  moral  law  from 
his  youth,  and  now  stood  before  him,  clean,  ardent,  sincere. 
But  he  was  purse-proud  and  selfish,  nevertheless;  and  Jesus 
said  to  him,  "One  thing  thou  lackest:  go,  sell  whatsoever  thou 
hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in 
heaven:  and  come,  follow  me.  But  his  countenance  fell  at  the 
saying,  and  he  went  away  sorrowful:  for  he  was  one  that  had 
great  possessions"  (Mark  10:  21,  22). 

Jesus  sadly  saw  him  go  away,  and  turning  to  his  disciples 
said,  "How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God!" 

They  were  surprised;  for  many  of  the  seemingly  and  some 
of  the  truly  good  men  were  rich.  "Who  can  be  saved?"  asked 
the  apostles,  for  those  who  were  not  rich  were  trying  hard  to 
be  so.  Jesus  answered  that  God  could  make  this  hard  thing 
possible;  that  a  man  living  in  the  world  where  money  is  needed 
and  the  struggle  for  it  is  full  of  temptations,  might   still  so 


THE    KINGDOM    OF    HEAVEN 


347 


conquer  covctoiisness  as  to  in'iierit  the  kingdom  of  Gofl. 
This  vonng-  man  was  good,  in  a  way.  The  mere  law  of  pro- 
hibition had  done  much  for  him.  His  profession,  "All  these 
have  1  kept,"  was  not  necessarily  a  boast;  it  may  have  been 
true,  but  he  lacked  love  and  sacrifice.  A  man  may  do  all  and 
have  not  love  and  profit  nothing.  Not  that  this  man  had  abso- 
lutely no  love — he  had  not  enough  or  of  the  right  kind.  To  be 
poor  for  Christ's  sake  and  to  give  till  the  giving  hurt,  this  was 
what  he  could  not  do.  The  man  who  will  attain  eternal  life 
must  be  he  who  w'ill  for  that  willinglv  give  all  else.  The  man 
whose  treasure  was  his  ruin  was  one  whom  Jesus  loved. 

Giving  to  the  poor  is  still  a  test  of  discipleship,  yet  T  am 
confident  that  Christ  does  not  w^ant  every  man  to  sell  all  and 
give  to  the  poor.  Giving  to  the  poor  to-day  is  often  to  make 
poverty  self-perpetuating.  Shall  every  prosperous  man  retire 
from  business  and  give  away  his  capital?  Shall  the  capital  of 
the  w^orld,  the  industry,  the  ability  to  establish  and  endow 
industrial  and  philanthropic  enterprises  pass  whollv  into  the 
hands  of  the  godless?  Christ  did  not  mean  this.  Rather  he 
would  have  us  give  the  poor  a  chance  to  be  a  man;  give  where 
it  will  lift  the  poor  above  poverty. 

It  W'as  this  incident  that  gave  rise  to  the  institution  of 
monasticism;  at  least,  this  was  the  lesson  that  determined  St 
Anthony,  the  father  of  asceticism  in  the  Church,  to  his  course. 
It  seems  to  us  plain  enough  that  this  was  not  Christ's  mean- 
ing. Asceticism  has  been  weighed  in  the  balance  and  found 
wanting.  By  its  fruits  we  know  it.  God  is  rich  and  w^ishes 
us  to  be  so.  It  would  not  be  to  the  credit  of  Christianity  that 
its  followers  live  in  poorer  homes,  have  less  to  w^ear  and  eat 
than  votaries  of  other  religions.  We  believe  in  Christianity 
because  its  followers  are  better  provided  for  than  those  of 
other  faiths.  By  its  fruits  we  know  it.  It  has  a  cash  value. 
But  this  is  not  its  chief  value.  That  giving  is  the  best  which 
most  truly  helps  men  onward  in  manhood;  such  giving  blesses 
not  only  him  who  receives,  but  doubly  so  him  w'ho  gives. 

This  young-  man  believed  eternal  life  w'orth  getting,  and 
worth  all  it  cost,  yet  deliberately  gave  it  up,  and  so  the  Mas- 
ter's love  for  a  young  man  of  promise  ended  in  sorrow  for  his 


348  JF.SUS    OF    NAZARETH 

incapacity  for  self-sacrifice.  Dante,  in  his  vision  of  the  future, 
saw  this  young  man  who  made  "the  great  refusal"  vainly 
searching  eternity  for  his  lost  opportunitv. 

Then  Peter  said  something  that  had  been  on  his  mind  for 
a  long  time.  "Lo.  we  have  left  all.  and  have  followed  thee." 
A  question  was  implied.  "What  is  to  be  our  recompense?"  It 
was  a  fair  question,  and  one  long  delayed.  The  fidelity  of  the 
disciples  deserved  a  reward,  and  they  needed  just  now  its 
incentive.  Jesus  answered.  "Verily  I  say  unto  you.  There  is 
no  man  that  hath  left  house,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  mother, 
or  father,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  my  sake,  and  for  the  gos- 
pel's sake,  but  he  shall  receive  a  hundred-fold  now  in  this  time, 
houses,  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  and  mothers,  and  children, 
and  lands,  with  persecutions;  and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal 
life." 

But  Jesus  desired  to  prevent  any  mistakes  growing  out  of 
his  promise  that  the  disciples  were  to  receive  "manifold  more." 
He  proceeded  at  once  to  tell  them  where  they  were  going  and 
what  it  involved.  "Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem:  and  the 
Son  of  man  shall  be  delivered  unto  the  chief  priests  and  scribes; 
and  they  shall  condemn  him  to  death,  and  shall  deliver  him 
unto  the  Gentiles  to  mock,  and  to  scourge,  and  to  crucify:  and 
the  third  day  he  shall  be  raised  up." 

The  w^arning  about  his  crucifixion  did  not  prevent  the  dis- 
ciples from  cherishing  renewed  ambitions.  "The  mother  of 
Zebedee's  children,"  came  to  Jesus  with  her  two  sons  James 
and  John,  asking  that  they  might  have  places  on  his  right  hand 
and  on  his  left  in  his  kingdom.  The  name  of  Zebedee's  wife 
was  Salome.  Many  scholars  believe  her  to  have  been  a  sister 
of  Mar)^  the  mother  of  Jesus  (Matt.  27:  56:  Mark  15:  40). 

We  wonder  where  Zebedee  was  all  this  time.  He  had  been 
present  when  his  sons  left  their  nets  to  follow^  Jesus.  Was  he 
too  old  or  too  busy  to  be  a  follower  of  Jesus?  He  was  a  prom- 
inent man  in  the  fishing  business,  and  had  partners  and  ser- 
vants— was  probably  the  head  of  the  syndicate;  perhaps  he 
was  too  busy  to  give  personal  attention  to  religion,  but  was 
glad  to  have  his  wife  follow-  Jesus,  and  willing  that  his  sons 


THE    KINGDOM    OF    HEAVEN  349 

should  be  disciples.  He  might  have  done  far  worse.  But  alas 
for  Zebedee  if  he  supposes  that  the  mother  of  his  children  is 
the  only  one  responsible  for  their  finding  places  in  the  king- 
dom! 

We  are  more  than  ready  to  forgive  this  request  of  an  ambi- 
tious mother  for  her  sons.  It  was  an  ambition  for  others,  and 
for  those  others  who  represented  to  a  Hebrew  mother  the 
acme  of  hope.  It  was  the  outgrowth  of  faith  in  Christ,  a  crude, 
materialistic  faith,  but  one  that  carried  with  it  her  heart's 
devotion,  so  that  she  was  among  the  last  at  his  cross  and  most 
constant  in  ministration  in  life  and  death.  She  had  earned 
some  rights,  and  she  did  not  seek  them  for  herself. 

Yet  it  was  an  ambition  which  needed  a  chastening,  and  was 
soon  to  receive  it.  Jesus  had  told  his  disciples  plainly  that  he 
was  the  Christ.  That  they  understood,  or  thought  they  did. 
He  had  told  them  twice,  and  now  told  them  a  third  time  and 
more  plainly,  that  he  was  to  go  to  Jerusalem  and  suffer.  That 
they  did  not  understand,  and  could  not  in  the  light  of  the 
other  revelation.  For  the  Messiah  to  go  to  his  own  was  not 
to  be  crucified,  that  they  thought  plain,  but  to  enter  his  king- 
dom. And  they  longed  to  be  counted  great  in  that  kingdom. 
There  is  a  glory,  at  least  Christ  does  not  deny  that  there  is, 
and  he  seems  to  encourage  the  hope  that  there  is,  consisting 
in  especial  nearness  to  him  in  his  kingdom,  and  he  says  that 
these  positions  are  not  in  his  gift.  They  are  for  those  for 
whom  they  are  prepared,     ^^'ho  are  these? 

The  positions  at  his  right  and  his  left  hand  a  few  days  later, 
were  occupied  by  two  malefactors,  the  one  penitent,  the  other 
impious.  And  that  was  when  the  Son  of  man  was  coming 
into  his  kingdom!  "Lord,  remember  me  when  thou  comest 
into  thy  kingdom!"  In  that  hour  of  awful  agony,  there  was  a 
man  who  could  count  even  the  pain  of  crucifixion  worth  while 
if  it  brought  him  to  the  right  hand  of  Christ.  Which  of  the 
disciples  could  have  believed  it?  In  the  hour  of  the  consum- 
mation of  the  Lord's  work — the  hour  which,  spite  its  eternal 
horror,  was  the  hour  of  his  coronation — those  on  his  right  hand 
and   his  left   were  neither  James    nor    John   nor    Peter    nor 


350  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

Thomas,  but  two  criminals,  suffering  like  himself,  for  alleged 
revolt  against  the  government  of  Rome. 

The  disciples  were  indignant  at  James  and  John.  But  Jesus 
speaks  kindly  to  them  all  of  the  spirit  of  his  kingdom.  Not 
the  glory  of  ambition,  but  the  glory  of  sacrifice,  is  that  for 
which  he  is  preparing  himself  and  them. 

Two  great  truths  concerning  his  ministry  Jesus  reserved 
till  its  very  close  before  revealing  their  full  import  to  his  dis- 
ciples. The  first  was  that  he  was  to  be  offered  a  sacrifice  for 
sins.  He  had  vaguely  hinted  it  before,  but  now  he  told  it  fully. 
The  second  was  that  they  were  to  share  that  sacrifice.  Twice 
he  conjoined  these  two  great  truths;  once  when  Peter  rebuked 
him  for  his  own  impending  doom  as  he  had  foretold  it,  and 
here  again  when  the  disciples  are  wondering  who  shall  be 
greatest  in  his  kingdom;  and  two  of  them  through  their 
mother  are  asking  for  the  chief  place.  Jesus  teaches  them  the 
lesson  of  service.  WHioever  will  be  great,  shall  minister;  he 
who  will  be  greatest,  shall  serve.  The  words  might  bear  even 
a  stronger  translation,  as  "Whoever  will  be  great  let  him 
serve,  and  whoever  will  be  greatest  let  him  become  a  slave." 

All  this  was  very  startling  to  the  disciples,  but  it  was  less 
so  than  what  followed,  "Even  as  the  Son  of  man  came,"  and 
they  were  beginning  to  know  why  he  had  come.  As  he  came 
to  serve  they  were  to  serve.  As  he  was  to  give  his  life  for  a 
ransom,  they  were  to  give  their  lives  to  the  same  end.  The 
emphatic  words  are  "even  as."  Christ's  own  service  is  the 
only  measure  of  ours. 

There  were  four  progressive  lessons  on  the  cross  which  the 
Lord  gave  his  disciples.  The  first  was  at  Caesarea  Philippi 
(Matt.  i6:  13  et  seq.)  where  Peter  confessed  him.  "From  that 
time  began  Jesus  to  show  his  disciples  how  he  must  go  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  suffer."  This  is  definitely  recorded  as  the  beginning 
of  Christ's  teaching  on  this  subject,  and  the  time  appears  to 
have  been  less  than  six  months  before  his  crucifixion.  The 
second  was  this  incident  when  Salome  came  and  asked  for  her 
sons  an  advantage  over  the  other  disciples.  Christ  used  the 
indignation  of  the  disciples  resulting  from  this  incident  for  the 


THE    KINGDOM    OF    HEAVEN  351 

second  lesson  on  the  cross.  The  third  lesson  was  the  anointing 
at  Bethany,  where  it  was  declared  that  Mary  had  come  to  do 
this  against  his  burial.     The  fourth  was  the  Lord's  Supper. 

In  three  of  these,  certainly,  the  two  lessons  are  joined. 
When  the  Lord  tells  Peter  that  he  is  to  be  crucified,  he  adds, 
"If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself  and  take 
up  his  cross  and  follow  me."  When  he  tells  them  that  his  life 
is  to  be  given  as  a  ransom,  he  tells  them  that  their  lives  are 
to  be  "even  as"  his.  When  Mary  anoints  his  feet,  he  tells 
them  that  this  outpouring  of  human  love  shall  be  told  of  "as 
memorial  of  her"  wherever  the  Gospel  of  his  cross  is  preached. 
And  in  the  last  supper  he  lays  upon  his  disciples  the  obliga- 
tion of  an  ordinance  wherein  they  shall  perpetually  remind 
themselves  of  their  fellowship  with  one  another  in  the  bond 
of  their  communion  in  his  death.  So  the  doctrine  of  the  cross 
includes  the  sacrifice  and  glory  of  the  disciples  with  their  Lord. 

Paul  understood  the  spirit  of  these  teachings.  He  was 
crucified  with  Christ;  he  lived,  yet  not  he  but  Christ.  He  was 
a  partaker  in  Christ's  sufferings,  and  expected  to  be  a  partaker 
in  his  glory.  Likewise  the  other  apostles  understood,  in  part, 
at  least,  the  meaning  of  these  words  of  Jesus.  These  teachings 
set  forth  the  essential  truth  that  Christ's  work  and  ours  are 
not  to  be  divorced.  Nor  is  his  death  to  be  rudely  severed 
from  his  life.  His  death  fitly  culminated  his  life  of  ministry. 
The  two  belong  together. 

The  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  as  Jesus  preached  it  in  his  last 
journey  to  Jerusalem,  was  the  glory  and  the  fellowship  of 
sacrifice  "even  as"  the  Son  of  man,  who  came  not  to  be  min- 
istered to  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life,  while  living  and 
while  dving,  as  he  still  is  giving  it,  in  the  fullness  of  his  redemp- 
tive work,  for  the  redemption  of  many. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 


BARTIMAEUS  AND  ZACCHAEUS 

Modern  Jericho  is  a  squalid  town.  The  men  have  a  bad 
reputation  as  robbers;  the  virtue  of  the  women  is  more  than 
questioned,  and  the  children  are  as  vicious  a  set  of  little  beg- 
gars as  one  may  find  between  Jordan  and  the  Mediterranean. 
It  is  situated  in  a  region  of  great  fertility,  which  presents  a 
most  pleasing  contrast  to  the  bleak  and  desolate  wilderness  of 
Judaea.  Situated  far  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  in  a  region  of 
infrequent  rains,  it  is  hot  and  dusty;  but  its  springs  are  a 
source  of  life  and  verdure,  and  the  swift-flowing  Jordan  is 
fringed  with  a  tangle  of  trees,  in  whose  solitudes  the  hyenas 
and  jackals  hide  and  howl.  In  the  time  of  Christ,  Jericho  was 
a  populous  city.  Herod  had  a  palace  there,  and  it  was  a  place 
of  political  importance.  At  the  time  of  the  visit  of  Jesus  it 
was  doubtless  thronged  with  pilgrims  on  the  way  to  Jerusa- 
lem. This  was  in  the  last  days  of  March,  A.  D.  30.  He  healed 
blind  Bartimaeus  (Matt.  20: 29-34),  visited  Zacchaeus  (Luke 
19:  9-10),  and  delivered  the  parable  of  the  pounds  (Luke  19: 
11-28).  He  went  on  to  Jerusalem,  leaving  Jericho  apparently 
on  Friday,  March  31,  and  arriving  at  Bethany  that  night.  The 
incidents  which  claim  our  attention  are  those  relating  to  the 
blind  men  and  the  publican. 

As  Jesus  entered  Jericho  two  blind  men  sat  begging.  Pales- 
tine is  full  of  people  who  are  blind  or  nearly  so.  The  visitor  is 
distressed  by  the  number  of  people  with  diseases  of  the  eyes. 
Commentators,  noticing  that  Matthew  speaks  of  two  men  and 
Mark  and  Luke  of  only  one,  and  that  Mark  and  Luke  speak 
of  the  healing  as  occurring  when  Jesus  entered  Jericho,  and 
Matthew  as  he  was  leaving,  are  at  pains  to  decide  whether 
there  were  two  or  only  one.     For  my  own  part,   I  have  no 


BARTIMAEUS    AND    ZACCMAEUS 


353 


clonl)t  there  were  at  least  two;  and  if  he  healed  BartiiiKcus  on 
entering,  and  did  not  find  some  others  waiting  for  him  as  he 
left,  things  have  greatly  changed  in  Palestine.  The  maimed 
and  halt  and  blind  arc  all  there  now,  and  it  fills  one's  heart 
with  pity. 

It  was  a  great  opportunity  for  Bartim^eus.  None  such  had 
ever  come  to  him.  It  was  his  only  opportunity,  though  he  did 
not  know  it.  With  all  his  power  he  shouted,  "Jesus,  thou  son 
of  David,  have  mercy  on  me!"     The  crowd  ordered  him  to  be 


MODERN    JERICHO 


silent,  but  he  shouted  the  more,  till  Jesus  heard  and  healed 
him. 

As  Jesus  entered  Jericho  he  discovered  another  man  who 
needed  him — a  publican  named  Zaccliams.  Everybody  in 
Jericho  knew  Zacchjeus.  and  could  have  described  him  with 
striking-  unanimity.  He  was  little,  he  was  rich,  he  was  a  pub- 
lican. That  was  the  whole  story  so  far  as  Jericho  knew. 
Jesus  alone  knew  that  Zacch?eus  had  a  capacity  for  justice  and 
generosity  and  spirituality. 

Zacchreus  came  to  look  on.  That  was  his  only  interest  in 
the  matter.     It  was  the  onlv  interest  anv  one  wanted  him  to 


354 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


assume.  The  puljlic  street  was  his,  and  no  one  could  forliid 
the  man  a  right  to  chmb  who  was  first  at  a  tree  in  the  high- 
way. It  is  better  for  a  man  to  be  curious  than  indifferent. 
There  is  a  l)lessing  to  tlie  in(|uiring  mind.  A  part  of  the  mis- 
sion of  Jesus  was  to  provoke  curiosity.  God  is  to  be  found 
by  those  wlio  seek  him.  Great  truths  are  not  discovered 
loose  on  the  surface  of  things;  they  are  found,  like  gold,  by 
industrious  digging. 


A    JERICHO    FAMILY 


But  mere  curiosity  will  never  take  a  man  to  heaven.  A  man 
may  long  wonder  what  Jesus  is  like,  and  never  see  him;  or 
even  go  forth  with  the  thoughtless  throng,  and  be  lost  in  the 
crowd.     The  vision  of  Jesus  is  worth  the  effort  to  climb. 

Men  are  not  wholly  what  other  men  suppose  them.  Some 
of  his  own  contemjwraries  knew  Lincoln  the  joker;  the  world 
now  knows  Lincoln  the  sad-hearted,  brooding,  compassionate 
soul.  His  own  law  partner  says  he  was  cold,  that  princii)les 
meant  much  to  him  and  men  little;  the  world  knows  that  prin- 
ciples meant  so  much  to  him  because  he  so  deeplv  svmpathized 


RARTIMAEUS    AND    ZACCllAI^US 


355 


with  men.  I  sometimes  think  that  no  man  is  un^lerstood  very 
well  hy  any  other  man.  And — I  may  sometimes  change  this 
optimistic  delusion  if  so  it  i.s — I  like  to  believe  that  most  men 
are  somewhat  better  than  they  are  commonb'  thouj^ht  to  be. 
That  is  not  wholly  the  popular  imjircssion.  It  is  the  office 
of  much  recent  literature  to  show  the  hypocrite  and  scoundrel 
that  exist  in  many  apparently  good  men.  Now  and  then 
shocking  revelations  of  private  Hfe  disclose  what  makes  our 
hearts  ache  for  men  who  appear  good  but  are  not  so.  Wliether 
it  be  that  another  good  man  has  gone  wrong  or  that  another 


SITE   OF   AXCIENT   JERICHO 

bad  man  has  been  found  out,  the  discovery  is  painful.  But. 
all  this  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  I  like  to  believe  that 
the  average  man  shows  to  the  world  a  side  which,  while  not 
his  worst,  is  commfinl\-  not  (juite  his  best.  He  mav  be  show- 
ing the  side  that  he  wants  to  show.  He  may  derive  satisfac- 
tion from  the  world's  wrong  estimate.  But  he  does  not  always 
estimate  himself  aright,  and  the  world  seldom  knows  him  as 
he  is  in  liis  heart,  and  as  God  knows  him.  Jesus  knew  men  as 
they  were;  and  thank  God,  he  knew  them  as  they  might 
become. 


356 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


The  visit  of  Jesus  to  Jericho  reminds  us  that  blessings  come 
not  only  to  the  man  who  sits  waiting,  but  to  him  who  acts 
when  the  time  comes;  not  only  to  the  man  who  climbs  a  tree 
to  see  Jesus,  but  to  him  who  makes  haste  to  come  down  and 
receive  him. 

There  is  such  a  thing  as  looking  on  in  the  religious  life  that 
has  in  it  a  peril  and  the  need  of  a  warning.  Curiosity  soon 
spends  itself,  and  indififerencc  follows.  Meantime  Jesus  has 
passed  on.  the  crowd  has  disappeared,  and  there  is  nothing  but 
to  climb  down  and  go  home  and  await  the  next  sensation. 
Zacchreus  came  down  when  Jesus  requested,  and  gladly 
received  his  Lord.  It  had  been  worth  the  Master's  while  to 
come  by  way  of  Jericho,  for  he  had  given  to  Bartimxus  the 
abilitv  to  discover  the  beauty  of  the  world;  and  he  gave  to  the 
world  the  ability  to  discover  the  good  in  such  men  as  Zac- 
ch?eus. 


A    MAN    OF    DISTINCTION    IN    JERICHO 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

THE  ALABASTER  BOX 

Jesus  probably  spent  Thursday  night  in  the  home  of 
Zaccha?us.  heahng  blind  Bartimceus  either  as  he  entered  or  left 
the  city,  and  on  Friday  continued  his  journey,  a  six  hours' 
up-hill  walk  to  Jerusalem.  There  are  few  more  pathetic  pic- 
tures in  the  gospel  history  than  this  of  Jesus  going  before  his 
disciples  tOAvard  Jerusalem.  On  his  way  from  Jericho  he 
repeated  the  parable  of  the  pounds,  and  "went  on  before,  going 
up  to  Jerusalem."  The  way  was  full  of  pilgrims  from  Persea 
and  the  region  about  Jordan  going  up  to  the  feast  of  the  pass- 
over.  The  procession  grew  larger  and  longer,  and  ever  at  its 
head  we  see  that  sad.  courageous  figure,  with  weary  but  firm 
step  ascending  the  ragged  road  toward  Jerusalem  to  meet  his 
crucifixion. 

For  two  months  Jesus  had  hidden  from  the  spite  of  the 
hierarchy  in  the  little  town  of  Ephraim.  Again  he  approaches 
Bethany,  where  a  few  weeks  before  he  raised  Lazarus  from 
the  dead.  Then  it  was  nearing  the  end  of  January  or  the  first 
of  February,  and  winter  reigned.  Now  as  he  approached 
Olivet  from  the  Jordan  valley,  it  was  clothed  in  the  verdure 
of  spring.  The  groves  about  Bethany  were  all  green,  and  the 
world  never  looked  brighter  to  him  than  on  that  evening 
when  the  sun  was  setting  on  Jerusalem,  and  the  sunset  of  his 
life  was  drawing  near. 

There  was  a  feast  at  Bethany  that  evening — such  a  feast 
as  Jesus  rarely  attended.  No  cynical  Pharisee  prepared  it,  but 
love  and  gratitude  made  it  rich  and  sweet.  Martha  served; 
Lazarus  sat  beside  Jesus;  and  Mary  came  and  broke  her 
alabaster  box  of  ointment  on  Jesus'  head. 

The  American  Revision  changes  "pence"  to  "shillings," 
explaining  in  the  margin  that  the  coin  was  worth  about  seven- 

357 


358  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

teen  cents.  I  would  have  preferred  that  they  should  have 
changed  it  to  "dollars."  for  the  coin  had  a  purchasing  power 
in  labor  more  than  equal  to  that  of  a  dollar  now.  The  value 
of  the  alabaster  box  was  that  of  a  year's  wages  for  a  working 
man.  It  would  be  fair  to  reckon  it  as  the  C(|uivalent  of  three 
hundred  dollars,  or  perhaps  five  hundred  dollars.  Surely  it 
was  a  large  sum  to  expend  on  a  momentary  gratification. 
Why  should  Jesus  permit  the  expenditure  of  so  much  money 
upon  himself?  He  was  a  poor  man  like  the  rest  of  them.  He 
was  as  unused  to  luxury  as  the  others  of  the  company.  Judas 
was  not  the  only  one  that  complained.  T  wonder  if  there  were 
any  that  did  not!  Three  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  ointment 
gone  in  fi\'e  minutes,  and  who  was  the  better  for  it?  You 
could  have  bought  Peter's  boat  and  all  his  fishing  apparatus 
for  three  hundred  dollars.  They  needed  money  now:  their 
friends  were  few  and  their  future  w-as  dark.  The  city  which 
they  were  to  enter  on  the  morrow  would  have  beggars  at 
every  corner,  and,  oh,  such  beggars,  and  so  many  of  them! 
Why  was  the  money  wasted  in  ointment? 

But  the  poor  have  not  suffered  because  of  Mary's  box  of 
ointment.  The  gift  she  made  then  to  the  Master  has  over- 
flowed in  fragrant  blessings  upon  God's  poor,  and  thousands 
of  generous  givers  have  heard  the  Master's  word,  "Inasmuch 

as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  these  my  brethren ye  did 

it  unto  me." 

She  did  what  she  could,  and  it  was  much.  We  can  do  no 
more  than  we  are  accustomed  to  think.  It  is  love  that  makes 
us  capable  of  the  impossible.  Mere  conventional  gratitude 
would  have  been  content  with  conventional  thanks.  Love  is 
original  and  inventive.  Mere  friendship,  as  the  term  is  com- 
monly used,  is  always  asking,  "What  can  I  give?"  for  its 
imagination  is  hampered  by  conventional  ideals.  This  is  whv 
Christmas  gifts  are  so  great  a  burden,  not  by  reason  of  their 
cost,  but  because  of  their  strain  on  the  imagination.  This  is 
why  wedding  gifts  abound  in  duplicates.  Love  can  do  unique 
things.  It  can  fashion  gifts  that  are  original.  Mary  had  this 
afifection  for  Jesus,  that  was  fruitful  in  invention  and  gifted 


THE     ALABASTER     BOX 


359 


with  prophetic  instinct.  She  did  it  for  his  burial,  not  knowin.s^ 
that  he  was  aliout  to  (he,  but  as  rhvining-  1)v  love's  intuition 
that  the  gift  would  better  be  made  now,  while  there  was  oppor- 
tunity, and  while  the  friends  were  gathered  who  knew  the 
reason  for  her  gratitude.  Some  who  saw  this  act  thought  it 
bold,  and  others  thought  it  extravagant.  Jesus  appreciated  it. 
for  he  knew  better  than  any  one  else  out  of  what  pure  devotion 
it  sprang.  His  words  were  an  illustration  of  that  quality  of 
appreciativeness  which  ever  characterized  his  work. 


THE    APOSTLES      FOUNTAIN — ON    JERICHO    KOAI) 


The  world  yearns  for  sympathy  and  appreciation.  The  artist 
gains  courage  to  toil  on  in  the  attic  in  the  hope  that  sometime 
the  world  will  discover  and  applaud  his  genius.  The  man  who 
struggles  against  odds  for  success,  wants  it  not  only  for  him- 
self, but  to  vindicate  himself  before  the  world.  The  world 
rushes  to  see  the  picture  after  some  one  with  insight  has 
discovered  it.  It  hastens  to  give  receptions  and  dinners  to 
the  man  whose  success  some  one  else  has  disclosed.  The 
world  itself  is  not  very  discerning,  and  its  geniuses  commonly 


36o 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


become  hungry  before  they  arc  found.  Now  and  then  is  given 
to  some  rare  man  the  gift  of  discernment,  and  we  apphuul  him 
as  the  discoverer  of  genius. 

Jesus  said  of  Mary,"\'crily  1  say  unto  you,  Wheresoever  this 
gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  world,  that  also  which 
this  woman   hath  done  shall  be  spoken  of  for  a  memorial  of 


t 
% 

^ 

(1m  ^  ^ 

m^y 

mary   with  the  alabaster  box 
(carlo  dolci.  1616-1686) 


her"  (Matt.  26:  13).  Why  should  Mary's  story  be  told  with 
the  story  of  the  gospel?  Because  it  was  a  love  which  like 
Christ's  did  not  measure  the  means  which  it  employed  to 
express  itself.  Over  against  the  utiHtarian  fidelity  of  those 
who  complained  of  the  waste,  we  place  her  unstinted  devotion. 
Jesus  commended  the  latter.     God  is  lavish  of  his  affection. 


THE     ALABASTER     BOX 


361 


I'oUcn    pours  itself    in  showers  over  the    meaj^erly  receptive 
pistil.     God's  gifts  are  ever  larger  than  we  appropriate. 

The  story  deserves  immortality  because  the  good  deed  which 
would  not  have  been  too  good  after  his  death.  Mary  bestowed 
with  prophetic  faith  on  the  living  Saviour.  Blessed  is  the 
instinct  which  leads  us  to  say  and  do  good  things  of  the  dead. 


THE     TOOK     YE     HAVE     Al.WAVS     WITH     VUU 


Sad  it  is  that  we  so  often  postpone  them  until  death.  Mary 
gave  to  Jesus  the  best  she  had.  God  gives  to  us  his  best. 
Mary  and  Martha  had  received  too  good  a  blessing  to  mani- 
fest their  thankfulness  in  the  gift  of  a  copper  coin.  Jesus 
appreciates  the  love  that  appreciates  the  love  of  God,  and 
returns  it  in  kind.  The  rich  gift,  the  gift  that  represents  a 
life's  devotion — this  God  gives,  and  this  w^e  may  give. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 


AMID  PALM  BRANCHES 


Five  centuries  before  the  birth  of  Jesus  a  young  prophet 
whose  fervent  exhortations  and  rapt  visions  had  helped  to 
bring  about  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple,  looked  forward  to 
the  coming  of  a  king  to  that  same  temple,  and  cried,  "Rejoice 
greatly,  O  daughter  of  Zion;  shout,  C)  daughter  of  Jerusalem: 
behold,  thy  king  cometh  unto  thee:  he  is  just,  and  having 
salvation;  lowly,  and  riding  upon  an  ass,  even  upon  a  colt  the 
foal  of  an  ass"  (Zech.  9:  9). 

I  do  not  know  what  thoughts  of  glory  were  in  the  mind  of 
the  prophet,  nor  when  he  expected  the  king  who  was  to 
gladden  Jerusalem.  I  only  know  that  nothing  occurred  in 
the  history  of  the  nation  that  could  be  counted  a  fulfilment 
of  that  inspired  hope  for  five  weary  centuries.  Cyrus  had 
been  God's  messiah  for  the  restoration  of  Israel  to  its  own 
land,  but  now  that  Israel  had  returned  and  had  a  house  for 
God's  worship,  it  needed  Israel's  own  king. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  these  prophecies  of  Zechariah, 
alone  of  post-exilic  prophecies,  treat  of  the  triumph  of  the 
king  that  was  expected.  The  suffering  servant  of  God,  who 
redeems  by  sacrifice,  had  taken  the  place  in  prophecy  of  the 
exalted  Messianic  ideal  of  the  age  of  Hezekiah.  Here  appears 
the  vision  of  a  king  who  is  a  conqueror,  and  here  it  is  a  peace- 
ful conquest.  Christ  appeared  in  Jerusalem  in  early  spring  five 
centuries  later,  meek,  yet  a  conqueror;  exulting,  yet  with  tears 
on  his  face. 

We  are  interested  in  the  simple  preparations  for  the  entry 
into  the  city.  Only  in  their  spiritual  significance  can  thev 
seem  otherwise  than  meager  and  poor.  In  the  old  days  of 
Davidic  simplicity,  the  king  and  his  sons  rode  upon  asses  or 

362 


AMID     PALM     BRANCHES  363 

mnles,  but  since  the  time  of  Solomon  tlie  horse  had  been  the 
fitting  beast  for  royalty.  But  Jesus  definitely  chose  the  hum- 
bler, but  in  Juda^a  the  more  useful,  animal.  To  the  disciples 
every  detail    in   the    preparation  was    most    eagerly   obeyed. 


THE   ROAD   FROM    JERICHO   TO   JERUSALEM 


They  understood  that  now  Jesus  was  about  to  declare  himself 
the  Christ  to  the  people  as  he  had  to  themselves,  and  to  accept 
the  allegiance  which  all  along  the  multitude  had  gladly  offered 
him  if  he  would  come  as  King. 


364  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

We  cannot  help  sharing  in  the  joy  of  the  disciples  as  they 
completed  the  simple  preparations  commanded  by  Jesus  for 
his  entry  into  Jerusalem.  Now,  we  say  to  ourselves,  is  coming 
his  real  glory.  We  cannot  understand  why  he  has  so  per- 
sistently hidden  himself  when  he  was  famous,  and  appeared 
when  he  was  in  danger.  Now  preparations  begin  which  we  can 
understand.  Walking  is  for  peasants  or  for  teachers  in  humble 
life;  to  ride  is  regal.  He  who  came  before  us  going  up  to 
Jerusalem  and  pressing  forward  eagerly  until  his  arrival,  while 
we  followed  slowly  with  heavy  hearts,  ready  indeed,  to  die 
with  him,  yet  sorely  disappointed  and  perplexed,  begin  now 
to  understand  it.  The  Lord  did  not  come  to  die.  after  all. 
He  has  resources  which  hitherto  he  has  not  exhibited.  We 
have  seen  nothing  like  his  present  demeanor.  For  him  to 
ride  is  a  new  thing,  and  it  means  a  new  attitude  toward  the 
question  of  his  Messianic  mission.  We  are  partly  right.  Jesus 
is  taking  a  new  step.  He  who  has  refused  to  tell  men  who 
he  was,  and  charged  his  disciples  to  tell  no  man.  is  proclaiming 
on  the  housetops  what  hitherto  he  has  told  in  the  ear.  His 
triumphal  entry  is  a  proclamation  of  his  sovereignty. 

The  disciples  read  the  change  of  purpose  in  his  confident, 
authoritative  tones.  Even  as  they  go  for  the  ass,  which  he 
does  not  ask  for,  but  impresses  as  a  general  might  do,  they 
recall  the  words  of  the  prophet  that  so  the  King  shall  come, 
riding  upon  the  colt  of  an  ass.  And  now  they  have  the  beast, 
and  now  the  Lord  is  mounted  upon  him.  The  disciples  gather 
about  him  as  he  mounts.  They  watch  him  as  he  begins  the 
ascent.  How  regal  he  looks!  There  is  something  imperial  in 
his  bearing,  as  he  rides  in  conscious  state.  And  now,  as  the 
crest  of  Olivet  is  almost  reached,  over  the  top  swarm  the 
crowds  from  the  city,  coming  out  to  meet  him,  and  the  two 
processions  meet.  It  is  a  moment  of  thrilling  joy.  Each 
company  is  surprised  by  the  presence  of  the  other  crowd,  and 
the  enthusiasm  of  each  mounts  higher  as  it  catches  new  flame 
from  the  spirit  of  the  other.  The  Master  does  not  restrain 
them.  He  seems  to  yield  himself  to  their  joy,  which  now  is 
past   all   bounds.      They   tear  banners   from   the   fresh-leaved 


AMID     PALM     BRANCHES 


365 


trees.  They  rend  off  the  pahns  alont;"  the  way.  They  carpet 
the  rough  road  with  their  garments,  and  cry,  "Blessed  is  the 
king  of  Israel  that  cometli  in  the  name  of  the  Lord!" 

A  few  steps  farther,  and  the  caravan  rounded  the  crest  of 
the  hill,  and  there  the  procession  halted.  The  road  below  was 
still  thronged  with  singing  pilgrims  from  the  city.  The  whole 
hillside  seemed  alive  with  them.  The  scene  was  one  to  kindle 
the  enthusiasm  and  to  fire  the  imagination.  Below  lay  the  city 
like  a  dream  of  heaven.     Nearest  to  the  Mount  of  Olives  stood 


JESUS    LAMENTING    OVER    JERUSALEM — (EASILAKE) 


the  temple,  radiant  in  its  gold  and  marble.  The  whole  land- 
scape was  beautiful  in  the  sunlight  of  that  Syrian  April.  It 
was  an  early  spring,  with  the  fig-trees  already  in  leaves  and 
fruit.  The  drought  had  not  yet  come  to  dry  up  the  water- 
courses, and  Kedron  lay  below  fertile  and  cool.  The  light  fell 
rich  on  palm  and  olive  and  new-born  grass,  in  their  various 
tints  of  green.  In  the  midst  of  a  setting  of  emerald  hills  lay 
Jerusalem,  like  a  glistening,  iridescent  gem. 

Then  the  joy  departed  from  the  face  of  Jesus,  and  he  wept. 
All  the  evangelists  tell  of  the  triumphal  entry,  but  only  one 


366  JESUS    OF    \.\zari:tii 

tells  of  this  strange  incident  which  accompanied  it.  To  all  of 
them  it  must  have  been  incomprehensible.  They  had  seen 
Christ  weep  before,  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus.  They  had  heard 
his  sigh  of  sorrow  for  the  sufferers  whom  he  healed.  It  had 
always  seemed  strange  that  Christ  wept  when  about  to  dry 
the  tears  on  the  faces  of  others.  But  it  was  passing  strange 
that  he  should  weep  now.    For  this  was  the  hour  of  his  triumph. 

But  what  a  triumph  it  was!  Humble  was  the  beast  on  which 
Jesus  rode,  and  it  was  not  his  ow'n.  The  banners  waved  in 
his  honor  were  neither  of  silk  nor  cloth  of  gold,  but  onlv 
exterrtporized  flags  torn  from  the  trees.  No  carpet  was  spread 
for  him.  save  the  garments  of  his  followers,  courteous  in  their 
rude  kindness  as  England's  most  flattering  courtier  to  Queen 
Elizabeth;  it  was  their  best.  But  what  a  contrast  was  this 
procession  and  one  that  would  leave  Jerusalem  before  the  week 
was  over! 

The  triumphal  entry  was  a  forcing  of  the  issue  between 
Christ  and  the  hierarchy.  It  was  not  a  declaration  of  hostili- 
ties, but  it  was  a  diplomatic  ultimatum.  By  it  Christ  meant 
to  force  the  hand  of  his  opponents.  It  was  his  public  procla- 
mation of  royalty.  It  was  meant  to  compel  his  opponents 
either  to  acknowledge  him  or  to  put  him  to  death.  While 
Christ  did  not  employ,  and  did  not  threaten  to  employ,  force, 
still  the  terror  of  a  popular  uprising  was  the  real  force  that  was 
to  bring  about  his  end.  This  event  forever  placed  Christ's 
attitude  above  that  of  supine  non-resistance.  It  was  a  war 
measure,  and  was  so  understood.  He  distinctly  informed  his 
disciples  that  the  time  had  come  for  them  to  buy  swords,  and 
to  take  prudent  means  for  their  own  defense.  He  distinctly 
set  his  former  course  over  against  his  present  policy,  calling 
that  to  their  minds,  togetlier  with  the  fact  that  it  had  suc- 
ceeded; vet.  even  as  he  acknowledged,  the  success  of  his 
former  pacific  attitude  toward  his  enemies  now  called  for  a 
change  that  made  his  work  aggressive.  For  the  time  it 
seemed  as  though  the  new  plan  had  succeeded. 

Both  the  disciples  and  the  enemies  of  Jesus  overestimated 
the  immediate  importance  of  this  extraordinary  event.     The 


AiMlD     PALM     BRANCHES 


367 


disciples  felt  that  now  the  world  was  about  to  follow  Jesus, 
and  the  priests  declared  that  they  had  staked  all  and  lost.  They 
had  prevailed  nothing;  the  world  had  gone  after  him.  But 
the  movement  was  certain  to  bring  a  reaction  unless  Jesus 
followed  his  advantage,  and  that  day  he  simply  looked  about 
the  temple  and  returned  to  Bethany.  So  closed  the  first  day 
of  this  eventful  week. 


THE  GOLDEN   GATE  OF    TERUSALEM 
NOW    WALLED    UP 


The  Golden  Gate  of  Jerusalem  is  the  traditional  gate  of  the 
triumphal  entry.  It  has  long  been  walled  up,  and  it  is  popu- 
larly said  that  it  will  not  be  reopened  till  Christ  comes  again 
to  enter  it.  The  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  with  them  the  gates, 
are  all  modern;  and  the  Golden  Gate  was  not  there  when  Jesus 
entered,  though  it  may  occupy  nearly  the  original  site.     Not 


368  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

through  that  gate,  but  through  the  door  of  the  hearts  of  men 
he  waits  to  enter  in  more  enduring  triumph. 

But  the  triumphal  procession  did  not  end  at  the  Golden 
Gate  of  the  Holy  City.  Looking  backward  across  the  centu- 
ries we  see  it  wending  its  way  from  the  gates  of  Jerusalem 
down  to  tlie  present  time.  We  see  it  forming  before  the  gates 
of  Rome  as  it  formed  before  the  gates  of  Jerusalem.  Nero 
is  upon  his  bloody  throne,  and  those  who  come  to  announce 
the  coming  of  the  King  are  scornfully  put  to  death,  but  they 
keep  coming.  Peter  is  crucified,  Paul  is  beheaded,  but  the 
faith  lives.  The  procession  lengthens.  The  palm-bearing 
throng  multiply.  They  are  thrust  into  the  arena  and  the 
beasts  turned  loose  among  them,  but  they  come.  Heralds  in 
such  numbers  no  king  ever  had  before  or  since.  They  throng 
Rome.  They  are  in  Nero's  palace.  By  the  lurid  glow  of  the 
city  in  flames  they  stand  confessed  by  thousands.  They  mul- 
tiply in  the  dread  light  of  the  conflagration  and  of  the  more 
bitter  persecution  which  follows.  Above  the  throne  of  Nero 
rises  more  and  more  clearly  into  vision  the  throne  of  God  and 
Christ,  and  in  less  than  three  centuries  the  religion  of  Jesus  is 
the  of^cial  religion  of  the  Roman  empire. 

The  procession  turns  northward,  and  knocks  at  the  gates 
of  ice  and  snow  where  dwell  the  rugged  barbarians  that  have 
already  in  their  callous  grip  the  scepter  of  the  Roman  state. 
Out  in  the  forests  of  Germany  it  finds  them,  and  far  north  in 
the  snows  of  Scandinavia,  rugged  and  fierce,  but  with  brain 
and  brawn  for  the  making  of  nations  of  giants.  The  forests 
divide  and  leave  a  way  for  the  procession  to  enter.  The  ice 
gates  melt  at  the  King's  approach.  Old  heathen  customs  are 
reclaimed,  and  endowed  with  Christian  significance.  The 
winter  solstice  becomes  the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Christ, 
and  the  vernal  equinox  the  anniversary  of  his  resurrection. 
The  death  of  winter  and  the  new  life  of  spring  which  for  ages 
has  been  a  central  feature  of  their  religious  joy,  become  trans- 
figured with  the  thought  of  the  new  life  w^hich  the  Christ 
brings  to  all  the  world,  and  of  the  death  of  the  last  enemy, 
which  is  death.     Heathenism  stands  before  the  procession  like 


AMID     PALM     BRANCHES 


369 


a  blank  wall,  but  as  Christ  approaches  the  g-ates  are  opened. 
The  Saviour  enters,  and  the  liammer  of  Thor  goes  down  before 
the  cross  of  Christ. 

We  look  across  the  channel  to  the  isles  of  the  North  Sea, 
waiting  to  see  if  the  procession  can  cross.  One  day  Pope 
Hildebrand.  a  mighty  reformer  and  missionary  superintendent, 
sees  some  fair-skinned  and  blue-eyed  slaves  for  sale  in  the 
markets  of  Rome.  "Who  are  you?"  he  asks.  "We  are 
Angles."  they  say.     "An.gles?"   said  the  pope:  "you  shall  be 


THE    GOLDEN    GATE — INTERIOR 


angels,"  and  forthwith  the  missionaries  are  sent  to  tell  the 
Angles  and  Saxons  that  a  new^  King  is  at  the  door.  The  old 
king  Ethelbert  likes  it  little  that  a  new  king  should  ask  for 
entrance,  but  asks  his  wife  Bertha.  It  is  a  woman's  hand  that 
opens  the  gates  of  Great  Britain  to  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel.  About  thirteen  centuries  ago,  in  597,  the  old  king 
hears  the  gospel  and  believes.  Pentecost  is  a  drop  in  the 
bucket  to  this.  Ten  thousand  in  a  single  day  are  baptized  in 
the  name  of  the  Christ,  and  Great  Britain  with  all  the  future 


370  JESUS     OF     XAZARETH 

g^lory  of  Ani;io-Saxon  ci\  ili/.alion  acknowledges  as   Kino-  him 
who  rode  hiimljly  into  Jerusalem. 

We  strain  onr  eyes  and  dinily  discern  to  the  westward  a 
new  and  nameless  continent,  but  the  ocean  is  wide  and  deep, 
and  the  humble  beast  that  was  ridden  by  the  Christ  may  not 
cross  thither.  For  ae^es  it  lies  waste.  But  look  yonder  at 
those  white-wini^^ed  ships  that  are  tlviujo^  low  across  the  waters. 
Whose  are  these,  and  who  is  it  stands  at  the  helm?  Columbus? 
Yes:  but  A\nio  with  him  is  easterly  crossing;-  to  this -land  of 
promise?  For  see,  the  vessels  have  come  to  anchor,  and  now 
a  procession  forms  and  marches  up  the  shore,  and  who  is  in 
the  van?  What  is  it  before  which  those  Spanish  sailors  kneel 
and  kiss  the  dust  of  the  new^  land?  Columbus?  Nay,  it  is  the 
cross!  And  the  new  w^orld  has  flung  open  wide  her  g'ates 
that  the  King^  of  glory  may  come  in. 

When  William  Penn  comes  into  Pennsylvania  to  teach  his 
message  of  peace  to  warlike  savages,  the  Christ  is  there  before 
him.  When  the  Mayfiow^er  drops  anchor  in  Plymouth  harbor, 
and  the  little  procession  forms  to  march  up  the  bleak  hill  to 
the  cannon-crested  meeting-house  on  its  top,  it  is  neither 
Elder  Brewster  nor  Governor  Bradford,  nor  yet  Miles  Standish 
we  see  at  its  head.  The  Christ  that  rode  in  triumph  into 
Jerusalem  is  leading  them  now  up  the  hill  that  is  to  be  conse- 
crated bv  their  prayers  and  enriched  by  their  sacred  dust. 

The  centuries  go  by,  and  in  the  clouds  and  thunder  of  battle 
we  see  him  again  coming  in  peace  to  a  new-born  nation,  in 
which  all  men  are  born  free  and  equal.  Yet  not  all,  for  again 
he  cometh  in  storm-clouds  of  war,  and  the  gates  of  the  slave 
market  go  down  before  him  and  crumble  into  dust.  In  the 
tumult  of  the  nations  with  the  clashing  of  steel  on  steel,  with 
the  pounding  of  iron  balls  on  the  sides  of  iron  vessels,  there  is 
heard  again  the  Voice  that  spoke  in  the  storm  on  Galilee,  and 
there  is  seen  the  form  of  Him  who  rode  in  triumph  into 
Jerusalem. 

Still  Jesus  rides  on  in  power.  Mighty  nations  open  their 
gates  at  his  approach.  Jungles  and  forests  make  a  highway 
for  his  coming.  Valleys  are  exalted,  mountains  and  hills  are 
laid  low.     The  crooked  is  made  straight  and  the  rough  places 


AMID     PALM     BRANCHES 


37^ 


plain,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  revealed,  and  all  flesh  sees 
it  together,  for  it  is  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  that  speaks  when 
the  voice  of  the  herald  cries  in  the  wilderness. 

Yet  doth  he  weep  as  he  looks  down  upon  the  cities  that 
receive  him,  for  not  yet  is  his  will  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done 
in  heaven.  Every  triumph  thus  far  is  mingled  with  sadness, 
for  men's  hearts  are  hard,  and  their  eyes  are  holdcn.  Men 
there  still  are  who  crucify  him  in  their  hearts,  and  reject  the 
Lord  that  comes  to  save  them. 


^Ma  -Mjl      ^ 

^M 

SSB^Hll 

ftp^sB^^^xJH 

H 

*^ 

It    J^H^H^   '       ^^m 

&m 

i-.ST'I.^^HB 

Bf-   ^  ^  ''^ 

;  -^Ljj^B.j9^'.  .^H^^l 

N^    -Ib^ 

^IHil 

Wm^k^      >I^U '  I 

fW^^^^f^--  sI^hI^ 

W   iX 

fSm 

^^V '  w'  ^^^H 

fCj^tp 

■jVv  ^d^^^^H^^I 

^1 

^^^^^K^r^^m/  y.^^^^^^^^. 

Imb 

^^Hc^3Mfc^i2^^l 

^■Ift       rf^^^l 

^B 

THE    TRIUMPHAL    ENTRY — (HOFMANN.     1824 — ) 


Yet  in  majesty  he  rides  onward  through  the  centuries.  Our 
learning  is  his.  Our  literature  is  his.  Our  highest  art  is  his. 
Our  noblest  music  is  his.  Our  loftiest  spires  lift  up  his  cross 
to  heaven.  Our  sweetest  humanities  are  his.  His  are  our 
charities,  our  infirmaries,  our  reformatories,  our  hospitals,  our 
libraries,  our  colleges.  Japan  opens  its  doors  to  the  new^  Occi- 
dental learning,  and  receives  with  it  the  Christ.  China  wel- 
comes the  medical  missionary,  and  with  him  the  Great 
Physician   steps  in.     African  solitudes  are  penetrated  by  the 


372 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


feet  of  the  explorer,  and  in  e\ery  <:rack  of  his  is  set  the  foot 
that  was  pierced  with  the  nail. 

So  the  triumphal  ]M-ocession  wends  its  way  down  the  long- 
vista  and  is  lost  to  our  sight  in  the  glory  of  the  future.  It  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  shall  be  its  culmination,  save  this,  that  his 
will  shall  be  done  on  earth  as  in  heaven;  that  he  that  was  once 
with  us  is  now  in  us;  that  he  will  be  with  us  always;  that  the 
earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  as  the 
waters  cover  the  sea;  and  that  every  knee  shall  bow  and  every 
tongue  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father. 


THE   HEAD  OF  CHRIST — (mAKOUSKY) 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 


JESUS  IN  THE  TEMPLE 

We  are  able  to  follow  with  practical  certainty  the  program 
of  Jesus  in  the  last  week  of  his  earthly  life.  On  Sunday,  Mark 
tells  us,  "He  entered  into  Jerusalem,  into  the  temple;  and 
when  he  had  looked  round  about  upon  all  things,  it  being  now 
eventide,  he  went  out  unto  Bethany  with  the  twelve"  (Mark 
II :  ii).  On  Monday  morning,  as  recorded  by  Mark,  "they 
were  come  out  from  Bethany."  and  came  "to  Jerusalem,"  "and 
every  evening  he  went  forth  out  of  the  city,"  Luke  tells  us 
that,  "Every  day  he  was  teaching  in  the  temple;  and  every 
night  he  went  out,  and  lodged  in  the  mount  that  is  called 
the  mount  of  Olives"  (Luke  21:  37). 

By  piecing  together  the  accounts  of  the  evangelists  we 
know  very  nearly  what  happened  on  each  day  of  the  week. 

On  Monday  Jesus  rose  early,  the  glow  of  the  previous  day's 
enthusiasm  still  upon  him,  and  hastened  to  the  city  before 
breakfast.  We  may  be  sure  it  was  his  own  determination  to 
go  early,  and  no  failure  in  Martha's  hospitality  that  sent  him  to 
the  city  before  breakfast.  He  saw  a  fig-tree  on  the  way,  whose 
rich  display  of  leaves  promised  green  fruit.  On  March  9,  1902. 
I  ate  a  green  fig  in  Palestine,  grown  as  large  as  a  small  plum, 
while  yet  the  leaves  were  forming.  The  fig  was  not  good,  but 
fit  to  stay  one's  hunger  in  an  emergency,  and  so  used  by  the 
natives.  It  was  not  unreasonable  to  expect  that  a  tree  with 
such  a  rich  profusion  of  leaves  would  have  fruit. 

The  cursed  fig-tree  was,  of  course,  his  own  nation.  It  had 
been  professing  much  and  producing  little  fruit.  To  it  he 
had  come  in  the  full  time,  and  found  it  zealous  for  form,  but 
indifferent  to  fruitage,  and  its  doom  was  near.  Jesus  had  little 
pleasure  in  cursing  anything,  even  a  barren  tree;    and  in  the 

373 


374 


JESUS     OF     XAZARKTH 


parable  he  represents  himself  as  the  .gardener  plcadiiii^  for 
another  opi:)ortunity  to  hrini;'  such  a  tree  t(;  fruit-fulness  (Luke 
13 •  7-9)-  Snch  an  oi)portunity  he  was  this  day  to  "ive  to 
Jerusalem.  The  curse  is  less  notable  than  the  extension  of 
opportunity.     Fruitless  Jerusalem  has  one  more  chance. 

The   disciples  were   more   impressed   by  the   miracle   of  the 
withering;  of  the  fig-tree  than  by  the  lesson  from  it.     Christ 


STREET    LEADING    TO    THE    CHURCH 
OF    THE     HOLY    SEPULCHRE 


did  not  recur  to  the  real  lesson  of  the  cursing  of  the  tree — the 
penalty  of  fruitlessness.  There  were  many  uncompleted  lessons 
whose  meanings  came  later  to  them.  It  w^as  quite  unnecessary 
to  tell  the  disciples  more  plainly  that  his  mission  to  his  own 
nation  w^as  to  fail  of  bringing  them  to  fruitage.  Instead,  he 
gave  them  the  lesson  of  faith  in  prayer.  I  think  we  are  quite 
justified  in  saying  it  was  wholly  incidental  to  the  one  he  reallv 


JESUS     IN     THE    TEMPLE 


375 


meant  to  teach.  And,  lest  the  fig--tree  mig-ht  sugg-est  the  use 
of  malevolence  in  prayer,  he  taught  them  that  prayer  and 
kindness  go  hand  in  hand,  and  that  he  who  prays  must  forgive. 
Thus  the  final  effect  of  the  lesson  of  the  withered  tree  is  not 
that  of  retrihution:    it  is  that  of  kindness  and  forgiveness. 


— r-:rr:= — ^ 

'■V 

^^&                '-'^ 

^'4 
•^ 

MhJi 

■-^-     ■             X         _i 

ii^^ 

'      ^"^1^ 

^M^»-^ 

■■fe^ 

m,-  ■                  'A^'- 

J^.  Jri^^J 

^m 

K  ^^V**^ '  -^  '*£■ 

■  ■^•*  ^'fHk.'-v.-- 

^aa^L^s 

ri^ 

THE   CHURCH    OF   THE    HOLY    SEPULCHRE 


Jesus  had  cleansed  the  temple  at  the  beginning  of  his 
ministry,  but  the  old  abuses  had  returned.  Now  at  the  close 
he  repeated  the  driving  out  of  the  merchants.  Monday  was 
the  day  of  Christ's  authority.  The  spell  of  his  influence  over 
the  multitude  still  held;  and  the  Pharisees  and  priests  kept 
their  distance.     It  was  an  indignant  hand  that  held  the  scourge 


376 


JESUS     OF     XAZARETII 


and  used  it  well.  There  was  l)eliind  it  muscle  that  was  capable 
of  earnincr  a  da\"s  wages  at  manual  labor.  Jesus  was  a  non- 
conformist. He  had  no  love  for  the  merely  formal  in  worship. 
He  could  easily  brings  himself  to  prophesy  the  overthrow  of 
the  temple,  and  to  proclaim  himself  greater  than  the  temple. 
Yet  the  temple  was  God's  house  to  him. 

Out  went  the  money-chang-ers.  and  in  came  another  throng, 
not  more  desirable  in  appearance  — the  lame,  the  blind    and 


THE   SO-CALLED    CENTER    OF   THE    WORLD — GREEK    CATHEDRAL 
IN    THE   CHURCH    OF    THE    HOLY    SEPULCHRE 


the  sick.  These,  the  need}',  were  with  him  after  the  others 
withdrew  with  their  wealth.  Need,  brings  many  a  man  to 
Jesus,  while  he  who  has  enough  without,  goes  away  with  that 
for  which  he  has  bartered  his  life. 

But  the  needy,  whose  coming  is  often  open  to  a  possible 
suspicion,  were  not  the  only  ones.  The  children  continued  the 
praises  of  vesterday.  First  of  those  who  caught  up  the  glad 
shout  that  greeted  him,  they  were  the  last  to  desist.     There  is 


JESUS     IN     THE    TEMPLE 


377 


less  patience  in  the  Orient  than  here  with  insul)ordination  of 
children,  and  the  effort  to  stop  the  disturbance  was  resohite 
but  ineffective.  At  last  it  was  necessary  to  appeal  to  Jesus  to 
forbid  the  children  to  disturb  the  sanctuary  with  their  shouts, 
but  Jesus  refused.  Quoting  a  verse  from  the  Psalms,  he 
reminded  them  that  God  receives  perfect  praises  from  the  lips 
of  children.  It  was  a  glad  sound  to  him  who  had  ever  been  a 
lover  of  children,  and  it  formed  a  fitting  close  for  the  Monday 
of  passion  week.  It  is  good  for  us  to  remember  it,  and  to  close 
our  thought  of  this  triumphant  day  with  the  memory  of  the 
songs  of  these  happy  little  ones  singing  praises  to  Jesus. 


JERUSALEM    FROM    THE    MOUNT   OF   OLIVES 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 


JESUS  IN  COX'JVRUVERSY 

When  Jesus  returned  to  the  temple  on  Tuesday  morning  he 
found  his  opponents  ready  for  him.  They  had  been  put  to  rout 
by  the  triumphal  entry  on  Sunday,  and  were  appalled  by  the 
courage  and  vigor  of  his  onset  on  Monday  when  he  cleansed 
the  temple.  But  forty-eight  hours  had  gone  by,  and  the 
opponents  of  Jesus  saw  the  reaction  setting  in.  Jesus  had  had 
his  own  way  quite  long  enough.  The  populace  does  not  enjoy 
seeing  things  go  the  same  way  too  long  at  a  time.  The  time 
had  come  when  popular  interest  would  at  least  sustain  a 
challenge,  and  back  of  the  challenge  there  was  organized 
opposition  such  as  never  l:)eforc  had  met  Christ.  Politics 
makes  strange  bedfellows.  On  this  day  Sadducees  and  Phari- 
sees forgot  their  mutual  hatreds,  and  combined  forces  against 
him.  So  they  met  him  on  his  arrival  on  the  temple  area  with 
the  demand,  "By  what  authority  doest  thou  these  things?" 

But  the  first  challenge  failed  at  once.  Jesus  met  their 
question  with  another,  a  shrewd  question,  one  that  put  them 
immediately  in  a  dilemma.  Was  the  teaching  of  John  from 
heaven,  or  of  men?  The  lawyers  dared  not  answer.  There  still 
was  reason  to  fear  the  people,  who.  now  that  John  was  dead, 
more  than  ever  believed  him  a  prophet.  It  is  interesting  to 
find  that  to  this  last  week  of  his  life  Jesus  found  a  measure  of 
protection,  as  at  the  outset  he  found  his  opening  for  his 
ministry,  in  the  name  and  fame  of  John. 

Jesus  followed  the  challenge  of  his  authority  with  three 
parables  of  warning.  The  first  was  that  of  the  two  sons  whom 
the  father  commanded  to  work  in  his  vineyard,  one  said,  ''I 
go,  sir,"  but  went  not;  the  other  said,  "I  will  not,"  but  after- 
ward went.     It  was  a  direct  charge  that  the  religious  leaders 

378 


JESUS    IN     CONTROVERSY 


579 


of  the  Jewish  people  had  failed  to  fulfil  their  promise,  and  that 
"the  publicans  and  the  harlots"  would  go  before  them  into  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

The  second  parable  was  that  of  the  wicked  husbandman. 
The  owner  of  the  vineyard  sent  repeatedly  for  his  rental,  but 
they  beat  and  even  killed  the  messengers.     Finally  he  sent  his 


THE     HOLY    SEPCI.CHRE 


son.  But  they  killed  the  son  in  their  hatred  and  greed.  Jesus 
asked  his  hearers,  "When  therefore  the  lord  of  the  vineyard 
shall  come,  what  will  he  do  unto  those  husbandmen?" 

Some  were  candid  enough  to  answer,  "He  will  miserably 
destroy  those  miserable  men,  and  will  let  out  the  vineyard 
unto  other  husbandmen,  which  shall  render  him  the  fruits  in 
their  seasons." 


380  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

Then  Jesus  told  them  that  the  king;dom  of  God  was  forfeited 
by  them,  and  would  be  given  to  others. 

The  third  paral)le  was  that  of  the  marriage  of  the  king's 
son.  Invitations  do  not  commonly  go  begging  at  such  times, 
but  Jesus  supposed  such  a  case;  those  invited  not  only  refused 
the  great  honor,  but  maltreated  the  king's  ambassadors.  But 
the  marriage  did  not  wait,  and  the  guests  were  found.  The 
unwillingness  of  those  first  invited  brought  sorrow  upon  them- 
selves, but  did  not  frustrate  the  design  of  the  king.  The  lessons 
of  these  three  parables  did  not  fail  to  be  perceived  by  those 
to  whom  they  were  addressed.  The  Jews  had  neglected  God's 
invitation,  scorned  his  ambassadors,  and  were  cherishing  mur- 
derous hatred  against  his  son.  They  w^ould  be  rejected,  and 
the  privileges  of  the  gospel  bestowed  on  others. 

But  the  Pharisees  had  a  trap  for  Jesus.  They  came  to  him 
with  honeyed  words  of  praise,  and  followed  them  with  a  ques- 
tion, certain,  as  they  thought,  to  entrap  him:  "Master,  we 
know  that  thou  art  true,  and  teachest  the  way  of  God  in  truth, 
and  carest  not  for  any  one:  for  thou  regardest  not  the  person 
of  men.  Tell  us  therefore,  ^^^lat  thinkest  thou?  Is  it  lawful 
to  give  tribute  unto  CcTsar,  or  not?"  It  was  a  shrewd  question. 
If  he  advised  the  payment  he  could  not  claim  to  be  king;  if 
he  forbade  it,  he  made  himself  a  rebel  against  Rome.  But 
Jesus  said,  "Why  tempt  ye  me,  ye  hypocrites?  Shew  me  the 
tribute  money."  And  they  brought  him  a  denarius.  Jesus 
asked  them,  "Whose  is  this  image  and  superscription?"  They 
answered  "Cresar's."  Then  said  he  to  them,  "Render  therefore 
unto  Ccusar  the  things  that  are  Cresar's;  and  unto  God  the 
things  that  are  God's." 

Then  came  the  Sadducees  and  proposed  a  hypothetical  case, 
that  of  a  woman  who  had  been  seven  times  married;  whose 
wife  should  she  be  in  the  resurrection?  Jesus  answered  that 
in  heaven  the  physical  relationships  of  earthly  marriage  have 
no  reason  to  exist,  and  that  its  people  are  as  the  angels  of 
God.  I  do  not  understand  him  to  have  said  that  in  heaven  no 
account  is  taken  of  married  life  on  earth,  or  that  relationship 
of  vears  established  here  are  there  to  count  for  nothing:  but 


JESUS    IN    CONTROVERSY 


381 


rather  that  the  inherent  spirituality  of  heaven  makes  niarria.sje, 
as  it  has  need  to  be  on  earth,  impossible  by  reason  of  its  spirit- 
ual companionship. 

Then  the  Pharisees,  hearing  that  he  had  silenced  the  Sad- 
diicees,  rallied  their  forces  and  came  with  another  question, 
"Which  is  the  greatest  commandment  of  the  law?"  The 
rabbins  taught  that  there  were  two  hundred  and  forty-eight 
affirmative  precepts,  as  many  as  the  members  of  the  human 
body,  and  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  negative  commands, 


TRIBUTE    TO    CAESAR — (bIDA.     1813-1895) 


as  many  as  the  arteries  and  veins.  The  total,  six  hundred  and 
thirteen,  was  the  number  of  letters  in  the  decalogue.  Which 
of  these  six  hundred  and  thirteen  commands  was  the  greatest? 
Jesus  replied  that  God's  commands  are  a  unit — love,  which 
applied  alike  to  God  and  man,  and  embraced  the  whole  law. 
The  questioner  could  not  fail  to  see  the  wisdom  of  the  answer. 
His  approval  of  the  answer  of  Christ  was  immediate  and 
hearty.  Jesus  said  to  him,  "Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom 
of  God."     Let  us  hope  that  he  did  not  fail  to  enter  it. 


382  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

These  three  questions,  one  political,  one  theoloo^ical,  one 
legal,  had  exhausted  the  opponents  of  Christ.  Every  time 
the  question  turned  upon  him  who  asked  it.  Jesus  had  met 
his  challengers  with  great  skill  and  wisdom  and  courtesy,  and 
they  had  retreated  baffled.  Then  Jesus  asked  a  question, 
"What  think  ye  of  the  Christ?  whose  son  is  he?"  They 
answered  him.  "The  son  of  David."  He  then  asked  them, 
'  How  then  doth  David  in  the  Spirit  call  him  Lord,  saying. 

The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 

Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand, 

Till  I  put  thine  enemies  underneath  thy  feet? 
If  David  then  calleth  him  Lord,  how  is  he  his  son?"  (Matt.  22: 
42-45.)  In  that  day  men  were  not  accustomed  to  call  their 
sons  Lord.  How  was  the  Messiah  to  be  both  David's  son  and 
his  Lord?  God  was  sending  a  greater  Christ  than  the  people 
were  expecting  to  receive.  No  one  could  answer  the  question, 
and  it  ended  the  attempt  to  compel  Jesus  to  commit  himself 
on  matters  that  would  afiford  ground  for  his  condemnation. 
But  as  he  confuted  the  Pharisees,  the  common  people  heard 
him  gladly. 

Then  Jesus  delivered  his  long  and  bitter  invective  against 
the  religious  rulers  of  the  Jews  (Matt.  23:  2,  3).  From  warn- 
ing his  disciples  against  them,  he  turned  and  addressed  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees,  charging  them  with  hypocrisy,  with 
excess  of  ceremonial  and  neglect  of  moral  life,  and  with  wash- 
ing the  outside  of  the  dish,  and  leaving  it  unclean  within. 
These  were  stern  words,  and  the  Pharisees  must  have  writhed 
under  them.  But  the  discourse  ended  with  a  tearful  invitation 
and  lament  that  showed  the  tender-breaking  heart  of  the 
Master. 

Jesus,  wearied,  now  sat  down  for  a  brief  time  in  the  court  of 
the  women,  opposite  the  treasury.  There  were  thirteen  trum- 
pet-shaped openings  into  which  people  were  casting  their  gifts. 
Many  people  who  had  come  far  to  the  feast  brought  consid- 
erable sums.  But  there  was  one  poor  widow  who  dropped  in 
two  of  the  smallest  and  least  valuable  coins.  It  was  not  lawful 
for  any  person,  no  matter  how  poor,  to  offer  only  one  of  these 


JESUS    IN     CONTROVERSY 


383 


petty  coins;  hers  was  the  minimum  ^ift.  But  Jesus  saw  it 
and  commended  it  as  the  largest  of  all  the  contributions.  It 
was  so.  The  aggregate  of  gifts  inspired  by  that  contribution 
makes  its  total  the  greatest  of  all  donations  of  money  since  the 
world  began;  but  Jesus  measured  the  gift  by  the  sacrifice 
which  it  represented.  The  cash  value  of  the  first  gift  was  one 
ninety-sixth  of  a  denarius — a  little  less  than  two  mills — but  it 
has  inspired  gifts  which  have  aggregated  millions,  and  has 
taught  the  world  the  spirit  of  Christ  in  giving. 


INSCRIPTION    ON    THE    STONE    FROM    THE    TEMPLE 


Jesus  now  rose  and  passed  down  the  fourteen  steps  below 
the  Beautiful  Gate,  into  the  court  of  the  Gentiles.  This  was 
a  great  paved  inclosure,  seven  hundred  and  fiftv  feet  square, 
open  to  men  and  women.  Jews  and  Gentiles,  so  long  as  they 
observed  due  decorum.  Here,  also,  until  the  preceding  day, 
had  been  the  cattle  and  dove  dealers  and  money-changers. 
Near  the  entrance  was  a  marble  screen  four  and  a  half  feet 
high,  having  an  inscription  in  Greek,  warning  Gentiles  to  go 
no  farther  on  pain  of  death.  Singularly,  of  all  the  stones  of 
the  temple,  this  one,  still  bearing  its  battered  inscription,  is 
the  only  one  known  to  be  preserved.  As  I  traced  its  letters 
in  the  government  museum  at  Constantinople,  I  reflected  that 


384  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

while  not  a  stone  had  been  left  upon  another,  this  had  served 
to  remind  us  that  God  had  broken  down  "the  middle  wall  of 
partition"  erected  by  the  exclusiveness  of  men.  that  so  all  men 
may  enter  the  most  holy  place. 

Outside  this  stone  a  little  i^roup  of  Gentiles  waited.  They 
were  probably  proselytes  of  the  Jewish  relis^ion  and  had  come 
to  the  temple  to  worship.  "We  would  see  Jesus,"  they  said  to 
Philip.  Philip  hesitated;  Jesus  was  wearied  with  the  contro- 
versy; he  had  come  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel: 
would  he  see  these  men?  Philip  asked  Andrew,  and  the  two 
met  Jesus  as  he  was  about  to  depart  from  the  treasury,  and 
presented  the  request.     Jesus  heard  it  and  rejoiced. 

It  was  like  a  new  beam  from  the  star  of  Bethlehem,  guiding^ 
men  from  afar  to  the  Christ.  Then  wise  men  from  the  East 
came  to  his  cradle;  now  humble  souls  from  the  West  came  near 
to  his  cross;  both  were  representatives  of  the  ,^reat  unconverted 
world  without,  turning  from  its  vain  quest  of  the  good  in  other 
religions,  and  finding  at  last,  Jesus.  Beautiful  was  this  light 
from  heaven,  shining  into  the  hearts  of  these  two  companies 
of  men.  and  lighting  with  reflected  glory  the  dawn  and  the 
twilight  of  the  earthly  life  of  Jesus. 

An  ancient  and  unfounded  tradition  asserts  that  these 
Greeks  were  ambassadors  from  Abgarus.  king  of  Edessa,  who. 
hearing  that  Jesus  was  in  danger,  sent  an  invitation  to  him  to 
come  to  his  kingdom  for  safety.  Abgarus  was  healed  by  a 
disciple,  probably  Luke,  whom  Jesus  sent  to  him;  and  further 
legend  asserts  that  Luke  painted  for  Abgarus  a  portrait  of 
Jesus.  These  are  interesting  myths.  All  that  we  know  is,  that 
as  Jesus  was  rejected  by  his  own  nation  a  little  group  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  great  Gentile  world  waited  for  him,  and  that 
Jesus  rejoiced  in  spirit,  saying,  'Tf  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth. 
I  will  draw  all  men  unto  myself." 

As  Jesus  was  departing  from  the  temple,  his  disciples  called 
his  attention  to  the  immense  size  of  the  stones  and  the  mag- 
nificence of  the  building,  and  Jesus  said  what  too  soon  came 
true.  "See  ye  not  all  these  things?  verily  I  say  unto  you,  There 
shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone  upon  another,  that  shall  not 
be  thrown  down"  (Matt.  24:  2). 


JESUS    IN    CONTROVERSY  385 

They  went  out  from  the  temple  to  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
where  they  sat  and  looked  back  at  Jerusalem,  beautiful  in  the 
setting  sun.  There  the  disciples  asked  him,  "Tell  us,  when 
shall  these  things  be?  and  what  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  com- 
ing, and  of  the  consummation  of  the  age?" 

The  three  things,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  sign  of 
his  presence,  and  the  end  of  that  age  were  grouped  together 
in  their  thoughts,  and  Jesus  answered  that  the  then  present 
generation  should  not  pass  till  all  these  things  were  fulfilled. 
It  was  the  promise  made  (Aiatt.  16:  28)  before  that  some 
standing  there  should  not  see  death  till  they  saw  the  coming 
of  the  kingdom.  These  declarations  he  later  seemed  to  make 
more  specific  in  the  implied  promise  that  while  Peter  was  to 
glorify  God  by  his  death.  John  was  to  "tarry  till  I  come."  The 
destruction  of  the  temple,  which  made  the  Christian  religion 
universal,  and  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost,  were  the 
signs  of  the  promised  presence  of  Christ,  a  presence,  as  Jesus 
told  his  disciples,  manifest  to  them  but  not  to  the  world. 
Jesus  declared  that  he  who  was  then  with  them,  should  be  in 
them.  Whatever  special  revelations  of  that  presence  God 
has  yet  to  reveal,  this  spiritual  residence  in  and  among  men 
is  the  real  coming  of  Christ. 

The  lessons  on  Olivet  ended  with  the  parable  of  the  Ten 
Virgins,  which  was  given  to  teach  watchfulness;  the  parable 
of  the  talents,  whose  lesson  was  fidehty,  and  the  judgment 
scene.  The  tests  at  the  judgment  scene  are  all  practical. 
Those  who  render  service  to  his  brethren,  render  it  to  Christ, 
and  find  Christ  in  their  fellow  men,  and  heaven  in  his  service. 

Heaven  is  reached  by  the  road  of  self-forgetfulness.  Those 
who  strive  to  be  good  in  order  that  they  may  go  to  heaven 
may  not  wholly  fail  to  get  there,  but  they  will  come  far  behind 
those  who  simply  seek  to  do  good,  and  in  so  doing  become 
good.  Even  the  Son  of  God  turned  his  back  on  heaven  for 
our  sakes;  wherefore  God  highly  exalted  him  and  gave  him.  the 
name  that  is  above  every  name,  both  in  earth  and  heaven. 
Those  who  strive  for  heaven  often  fall  short,  by  reason  of  the 
selfishness  of  their  effort;  but  a  multitude  of  those  on  the  right 


386 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


hand  of  the  king  are  there  by  reason  of  the  good  deeds  done 
and  forgotten.  "Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  and 
fed  thee?"  they  ask.  They  enter  with  glad  wonder  and  sur- 
prise; for  they  have  been  so  busy  giving  cups  of  cold  water 
in  the  spirit  of  Christ,  that  they  almost  forgot  to  seek  heaven 
for  themselves.  Nevertheless  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are 
his.  Wherefore  take  courage;  forget  thyself;  help  thy  brother 
in  the  name  and  spirit  of  the  Christ ;  and  lo,  heaven  for  thee  is 
hardly  out  of  sight. 


Courtesy  r,f  the  Open  Court. 

THE    MAN   OF  SORROWS (eDUARD   BIEDERMANN). 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 


JESUS  AMONG  HIS  FRIENDS 

We  have  no  record  of  Wednesday,  and  we  need  none.  Jesus 
was  in  retirement  in  Bethany,  and  the  priests  were  plotting^  in 
Jerusalem.  Alone  of  Jesus'  disciples,  Judas  went  to  the  city, 
and  agreed  upon  a  plot  whereby  Jesus  might  be  betrayed  with- 
out the  making  of  a  tumult.  Alas  for  Judas,  who,  disappointed 
in  the  delay  of  the  coming  of  the  kingdom,  gave  covetousness 
free  rein,  and  became  the  most  hated  of  all  traitors  since  the 
world  began! 

We  can  easily  imagine  that  Wednesday  in  the  home  at  Beth- 
any. Part  of  the  day  Jesus  doubtless  spent  in  rest  after  the  busy 
and  exciting  scenes  of  the  previous  days;  part  of  it  he  must 
have  spent  in  prayer,  and  we  can  gather  the  burden  of  the 
prayer  from  that  which  he  offered  for  his  disciples  the  next 
night  in  Gethsemane  (John  17);  and  part  of  it  he  doubtless 
spent  in  instructing  his  disciples.  The  beautiful  lesson  of  the 
vine  and  the  branches  might  well  have  been  spoken  at  the 
paschal  supper,  but  it  fits  somewhat  loosely  into  its  setting, 
and  it  has  been  thought  possible  by  some  scholars  that  Jesus 
spoke  it.  or  portions  of  it,  in  the  vineyards  of  beautiful,  shady 
Bethany  on  this  unrecorded  Wednesday.  The  spirit  of  it 
certainly  was  the  spirit  of  that  day. 

Thursday  was  the  day  for  the  preparation  of  the  passover 
supper,  and  Jesus  withdrew  from  the  home  of  Martha  and 
Mary  and  Lazarus  to  a  house  in  the  city  where  lie  was  well 
known  and  had  a  friend.  There  was  a  large  upper  room  vacant 
there,  where  he  and  his  disciples  could  celebrate  together  the 
anniversary  of  the  exodus  according  to  the  time-honored  cus- 
tom of  the  nation.  A  room  in  Jerusalem  is  still  shown  as  that 
in  which  Christ  ate  the  supper  with  his  disciples.     If  we  could 

387 


388 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


be  at  all  sure  of  its  genuineness  it  would  be  the  most  sacred 
room  in  the  world,  not  only  because  of  that  night,  but  also 
because  of  the  days  following  the  resurrection  and  ascension, 
until  at  Pentecost  the  Church  was  born.  There  is  no  proba- 
bility that  the  room  is  authentic.  I  attended  a  service  in 
Jerusalem,  an  evening  communion  service  in  an  upper  room, 
filled  with  tourists  from  all  over  America,  with  reverent  wor- 
shipers of  Jerusalem  and  missionaries  from  other  i)arts  of  Syria. 


christ  washixg  peter  s  feet 
(ford  maddox  brown,   1821-1893) 


It  was  a  service  whose  memories  can  never  be  lost  while  life 
lasts.  But  the  essential  spirit  of  such  a  service  is  not  limited  to 
Jerusalem;  it  belongs  to  all  those  everywhere  who  meet  in  the 
fellowship  of  Christ's  spirit. 

After  the  passover  and  before  the  Lord's  Supper,  Judas 
went  out.  The  disciples  did  not  realize  that  he  had  gone 
otherwise  than  on  an  errand,  but  Judas  knew  that  lie  was 
ex])elled    from    that     company.       TTis    plot    had     reached    its 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    FRIENDS 


389 


culmination,  and  the  Lord  was  ready.  When  he  had  i^one  out, 
Jesus  spoke  freely  to  his  disciples,  and  broke  Ijread  with  them 
in  a  new  sacrament. 

"A  new  commandment  1  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one 
another;  even  as  I  have  loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one 
another." 


JESUS    WASHING    PETER  S    FEET 

(boccaccino,  I 51 5- I 546) 

So  said  our  Lord  at  the  talole.  There  was  nothing  new  in 
the  commandment  which  Christ  gave  to  his  disciples,  save  the 
measure  of  the  duty  enjoined.  There  were  ten  ancient  and 
honored  commandments,  and  this  did  not  add  an  eleventh.  It 
comprehended  and  enveloped  the  ten.  Love  is  the  fulfilling 
of  the  law,  and  he  that  loveth  is  born  of  God.  Whatever  there 
was  new  about    it  w^as  first    in  the  comprehensiveness  of    the 


390  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

statement,  and  secondly  in  the  measure  given  by  which  love 
is  to  be  gauged. 

That  it  is  our  duty  to  love  one  another  is  a  commonplace. 
If  we  have  not  learned  it  long  ago.  we  shall  not  learn  it  now. 
Nor  could  those  twelve  short-sighted  men  in  their  unseemly 
strife  for  the  best  seats  at  the  table  learn  in  a  single  lesson 
what  they  had  not  learned  in  years  of  tuition  under  the  divine 
Teacher.  But  there  is  a  standard  given  us  which  we  may 
impress  a  little  more  clearly  upon  our  minds,  however  we  fall 
below  it  in  actual  attainment. 

"Even  as  I  have  loved  you."  There  is  the  emphasis.  A 
measure  of  love  is  relatively  easy,  the  love  that  goes  out  toward 
the  agreeable,  the  pleasant,  the  harmonious.  Christ  loved  the 
unlovely  and  unlovable,  and  made  them  loving.  The  very 
disciple  that  leaned  upon  his  breast  was  a  raw,  quarrelsome, 
rude  young  son  of  thunder,  ready  to  assert  his  claim  to  the 
place  of  honor,  ready  to  call  dov/n  fire  and  brimstone  on  the 
Lord's  enemies  or  his  own,  ready  to  empty  the  vials  of  apoca- 
lyptic wrath  where  indeed  they  deserved  to  be  emptied,  upon 
the  wicked  and  the  enemies  of  the  truth.  The  love  of  Christ 
remade  him,  and  he  became  the  apostle  of  love.  Even  as  they 
sat  together  at  the  table  some  of  the  love  that  beat  in  the 
heart  of  Christ  gave  rhythm  to  the  pulse-beat  of  John,  and  as 
he  remembered  afterward  the  events  of  that  night,  he  alone 
of  the  evangelists  recalled  and  recorded  the  words,  "Abide 
in  me;  be  one  as  I  and  my  Father  are  one." 

A  part  of  the  mission  of  the  Lord's  Supper  w^as  to  emphasize 
the  common  source  of  spiritual  life.  Eating  of  one  loaf,  drink- 
ing from  one  common  cup,  the  physical  life  of  all  present  was 
received  from  one  common  source  of  energy.  Seated  around 
one  common  board,  shut  in  from  the  world  by  a  common  experi- 
ence and  privilege,  they  shared  together  the  dangers,  labors, 
perils  and  joys  of  their  relation  to  Jesus.  United  to  him  in  a  com- 
mon bond  of  love  to  God  and  man,  they  had  fellowship  in  their 
highest  spiritual  experiences  one  with  another.  It  is  almost 
bewildering  the  way  in  which  John  mixes  our  relation  to  Christ 
as  a  basis  of  fellowship,  and  our  fellowship  as  a  basis  for  our 


JESUS    A^IONG    HIS    FRIENDS  391 

relations  with  Christ.  Hear  him:  "If  we  walk  in  the  li^^ht.  as 
he  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship" — with  him,  we  might 
expect  John  to  say,  but  not  yet — "we  have  fellowship  one  with 
another;"  and  note  the  outcome  of  this  friendship:  "and  the 
blood  of  Jesus  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." 

No  man  has  ever  affected  the  race  powerfully  till  he  has 
come  to  feel  the  truth  that  his  life  belongs  to  the  race.  No 
man  is  truly  a  Christian  who  has  not  come  to  feel  something 
of  the  passion  for  men  which  animated  Christ.  An  unsocial 
gospel  is  a  contradiction  in  terms.  Christian  fellowship  is 
essential  to  Christianity  itself.  It  ever  drapes  itself  in  new 
garments.  It  ever  expresses  itself  in  new  and  lovely  forms 
of  service.  Now  it  breaks  the  alabaster  box  in  an  ingenuity 
which  shows  how  inventive  is  affection,  and  how  unstinted  it 
may  become;  now  it  washes  the  feet  of  Christ  or  one  of  the 
least  of  his  little  ones,  with  tears  which  show  more  of  love 
than  the  Pharisee's  expensive  but  heartless  hospitality.  Now 
it  waves  the  palm  branch  before  his  oncoming  kingdom,  pre- 
paring the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  now  it  tenderly  and  sorrow- 
fully anoints  the  dead  hope  which  it  lays  away  that  a  better 
one  may  rise;  but  ever  and  always  is  love  beautiful  and  holy, 
unselfish  and  inventive;  ever  and  always  it  is  born  of  God. 
The  love  that  makes  a  man  at  one  with  his  neighbor  is  one 
with  the  love  which  makes  him  at  one  with  God. 

"A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you."  Yet  it  is  the  very 
same  of  which  John  said,  "No  new  commandment  write  I  unto 
you,  but  an  old  commandment  which  ye  had  from  the  begin- 
ning." Love  is  ever  new.  It  has  to  be  new.  It  will  no  more 
keep  than  manna.  Daily  it  must  be  gathered,  and  daily  it  falls 
anew  from  heaven.  There  is  ever  a  supply.  Prophecies, 
tongues,  knowledge  fail;  but  love,  the  reservoir  of  love  from 
which  we  may  draw,  never  faileth. 

It  may  have  been  to  Jesus  an  inspiring  thought  that  the 
simple  meal  which  he  shared  with  his  disciples  on  that  night 
would  be  imitated  in  symbol  by  millions  for  unnumbered 
generations,  in  obedience  to  his  simple  word,  "This  do  in 
remembrance  of  me."      But   of  this  we  mav  believe   that   he 


392  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

would  think  less  than  of  the  other  fact  that,  inspired  by 
that  symbol,  and  the  common  source  of  life  and  love  which  it 
depicts,  men  would  love  one  another  in  the  spirit  of  the  Christ 
ideal.  His  spirit  has  jriven  the  name  to  the  highest  and  noblest 
type  of  love: 

Blest    be    the    tic    that    hinds. 
Our  hearts  in   Christian  love. 

The  love  that  is  patient,  that  can  be  brave,  that  redeems  by 
the  giving-  of  itself,  the  love  that  was  in  Christ  for  his  disciples, 
and  in  them  for  him,  and  in  them  for  each  other,  is  the  love 
that  the  Lord's  Supper  sets  forth.  It  sets  the  world  of  the 
faithful  about  one  common  board.  It  brings  the  noble  spirits 
of  all  ages  to  one  common  feast.  It  sends  out  its  swift  heralds 
to  proclaim  to  the  world,  "The  feast  is  ready;  come."  It 
takes  hold  on  the  life  which  is  in  the  vine  of  Christ's  love,  and 
is  rooted  deep  in  the  inefTable  nature  of  God.  Its  tendrils  hold 
fast  to  his  eternal  promises,  by  which  it  liears  its  fruit  higher 
and  higher  in  each  successive  season;  and  its  topmost  cluster 
of  love  that  once  was  of  earth,  and  is  now  just  be3''ond  our 
reach,  furnishes  the  new  w-ine  of  that  purer  affection  which  he 
drinks  with  his  disciples  in  the  kingdom  of  his  Father. 

The  Lord's  Supper  in  its  origin  is  closely  associated  with 
the  observance  of  the  Jewish  passover,  but  it  is  in  no  proper 
sense  a  perpetuation  of  that  celebration.  It  w^as  a  new  thing 
which  Jesus  instituted  among  his  disciples  on  the  night  in 
which  he  was  betrayed,  and  from  that  day  to  this  without 
interruption  it  has  been  observed  1)y  them. 

"This  do,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance  of  me." 
It  is  entirely  possible  that  our  Lord  meant  more  by  this  than 
a  reference  to  the  supper  itself.  He  may  have  meant  that  all 
food  is  to  be  thus  eaten,  with  thanksgiving  and  memory  of 
him  who  is  the  Bread  of  life.  His  was  the  custom  of  giving 
thanks  to  God  for  his  food,  and  as  he  taught  his  disciples  to 
pray  for  daily  bread,  so  also  he  taught  them  the  lesson  of 
thankfulness,  and  would  associate  all  God's  gifts  with  the 
thought  of  his  supreme  Gift.  His  disciples  recognized  him  at 
Kmmaus  as  with  simple  dignity  he,  the  guest,  took  the  place 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    FRIENDS 


393 


of  the  host  at  the  talkie  and  s^ave  thanks,  and  was  made  known 
in  the  breaking"  of  bread.  But  if  every  household  meal  in  a 
Christian  home  is  fitted  to  be  a  memorial  of  Christ,  much  more 
so  may  be  that  breaking  of  bread  in  his  own  household  of  faith, 
where  his  followers  have  assembled  in  his  name  for  his  worshi]) 
and  work. 

The  Lord's  Supper,  both  as  instituted  and  as  now  observed, 
is  a  rich  illustration  of  the  subordination  of  the  spirit  to  the 


THE    UPPER    ROOM — JERUSALEM 


letter.  Jesus  observed  the  passover  on  that  night,  not  with 
girt  sandals,  nor  standing,  nor  w'ith  a  staff  in  hand,  nor  in 
haste,  nor  w'ith  any  apparent  concern  for  a  strict  conformity 
to  the  letter  of  the  command.  In  like  manner  the  Lord's 
Supper  as  now  observed  departs  widely  in  its  form  from  the 
supper  which  he  instituted,  and  the  form  varies  widely  in  dif- 
ferent branches  of  the  Church.  Yet  the  spirit  is  better 
observed  because  of  these  changes  in  the  letter.  To  Christ, 
form  had  value  only  so  far  as  it  preserved  the  spirit  of  a  rite. 


394  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

The  Lord's  Supper  should  not  be  a  mournful  service.  Sol- 
emn it  is,  but  for  the  Christian  n.ot  sad.  It  was  not  the  meat  of 
the  paschal  lanil)  that  was  taken,  but  the  bloodless  bread  of  the 
table,  the  common  staff  of  life.  It  is  a  feast  and  not  a  funeral 
to  which  Christians  g-ather.  The  passover  was  a  festival  of 
solemnity  but  a  festival  still  and  a  festival  of  rejoicing.  Christ 
our  passover  is  sacrificed  for  us,  and  our  i^i-icf  for  the  slain 
Lamb  does  not  prevent  rejoicing  that  our  God  has  passed  over 
his  people,  and  led  them  forth  into  a  lar^e  place. 

We  still  cannot  forget  the  guilt  of  sin.  I  doubt  if  we  shall 
wholly  cease  to  regret  it,  even  in  heaven.  But  alreadv  we  can 
sing  with  joy  the  worthiness  of  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to 
receive  power,  and  riches  and  wisdom  and  strength,  and  honor, 
and  glory,  and  blessing. 

Finally,  the  Lord's  Supper  gives  us  objective  reality.  For 
this  we  often  seek  almost  disheartened.  We  know  our  own 
hearts  too  well  to  hinge  our  hope  of  salvation  wholly  upon 
our  own  good  purposes,  and  God  seems  far  off.  If  we  had 
something  objective  and  tangible  to  which  to  moor  our  faith, 
it  would  often  be  a  help.  Protestantism  must  not  err  in  being 
wholly  subjective.  For  God  has  given  to  his  Church  author- 
ity to  bind  and  loose.  There  are  times  when  souls  in  need  can 
be  satisfied  with  no  message  that  does  not  voice  conscious 
authority.  In  the  Lord's  Supper  God  speaks,  saying  through 
his  Church,  "Just  so  surely  as  you  receive  this  bread,  so  surely 
you,  being  penitent,  are  forgiven.  Just  so  surely  as  this  bread 
becomes  a  part  of  your  physical  life,  and  related  to  your  effort 
and  labor  and  thought,  just  so  surely,  you  being  receptive  of 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  does  his  life  now  enter  into  yours."  Here 
is  the  divine  communication  of  the  life  of  God.  And  here  is 
the  hope  of  his  coming,  for  his  kingdom  is  within  us.  Eating 
this  bread  and  drinking  this  cup  we  do  show  forth  his  death 
until  his  perfect  coming,  when,  seeing  him  and  being  like  him, 
all  life  shall  be  communion  with  him,  and  we  shall  drink  with 
him  of  the  new  wine  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

It  was  a  sad  night  for  the  disciples.  The  Twelve  had  come 
up  to  Jerusalem  with  Jesus  that  they  might  die  with  him,  thus 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    FRIENDS 


395 


at  the  i^rave  of  their  hope  in  him  as  tiie  ])romised  ^lessiah, 
maintaining  the  vigor  of  their  faith  in  him  as  their  Master  and 
Teacher  and  Friend.  It  was  not  idle  talk  with  Thomas  when 
he  said  (John  ii:  i6),  "Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may  die  with 
him."  He  meant  every  word  of  it,  and  showed  it  as  did  the 
other  disciples  by  going  with  him.  It  was  not  an  idle  boast 
with  Peter  when  he  said  to  Christ,  'T  will  follow  thee  to  prison 
and  to  death."  He  stood  as  long  as  he  was  allowed  to  fight, 
and  sincerely  meant  to  stand  till  he  died.   The  apostles  were  as 


JUDAS     RECEIVING     THE     MONEY — (h.     PRELL) 


true  and  reliable  as  men  who  trust  in  themselves  ever  are.    Let 
us  not  underestimate  their  devotion  or  their  courage. 

Little  wonder  that  during  the  last  w^eek  their  faith  began  to 
waver.  Plots  were  deepening  about  their  Lord,  plots  which 
he  himself  had  told  them  were  ultimately  to  succeed.  They 
had  seen  his  power  and  trusted  in  him.  They  had  heard  his 
voice,  and  leaving  all  had  followed  him.  When  he  told  them 
of  his  coming  death,  they  could  not  believe;  not  because  they 
were  disposed  to  doubt  him,  but  because  they  so  implicitly 


396  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

trusted  him.  When  Peter  relinked  him,  and  said,  "Be  it  far 
free  thee.  Lord:  this  sliall  never  l)e  nnto  thee"  (Matt.  i6:  22), 
it  was  because  he  beheved  so  profoundly  in  the  mission  of  his 
Lord  that  he  could  not  doubt  it:  and  his  smiting-  off  of  Mal- 
chus'  ear  was  his  impetuous  and  unwise  way  of  showinj:^  the 
same  confidence  in  Christ  which  had  caused  him  to  leave  his 
boat  and  follow,  throui^h  good  and  evil  report,  him  who  had 
not  where  to  lay  his  head. 

All  their  devotion  to  Christ  was  built  upon  their  confidence 
in  his  Messianic  mission  and  its  success:  and  all  this  was  swept 
awav,  not  by  their  own  disposition  to  doubt,  not  by  the  slander 
of  enemies  but  by  the  words  of  Christ  himself.  How  touch- 
ing" is  the  picture  of  their  devotion;  following  him  no  longer 
for  the  hope  of  a  share  in  his  glory,  but  from  sheer  momentum 
of  their  past  hope,  and  from  simple  trust  in  their  Lord,  no 
longer  the  coming  ^Messiah,  but  only  their  loved,  honored 
Master,  now  stripped  of  all  that  had  given  him  power  over 
them,  but  still  loved,  honored  and  followed!  They  had  fol- 
lowed him  in  hope;  now^  they  followed  in  despair.  They  could 
not  leave  him.    "Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?"    (John  6:  68.) 

But  even  now  their  old  hope  asserted  itself,  and  they  began 
to  question  who  should  be  the  greatest  in  his  kingdom,  when 
Jesus  swept  away  this  last  segment  of  a  hope  with  w^ords  wdiich 
they  could  not  fail  to  understand.  So  prostrated  by  grief  that 
they  could  not  keep  awake  when  asked  by  Jesus  to  watch  with 
him,  so  utterly  cast  down  from  the  lofty  pinnacle  of  their 
hopes,  is  it  any  w^onder  that  they  doubted?  Despair  and  hope 
are  equally  good  incentives  to  nerve  men  to  fight;  but  hope 
alternating  with  despair  is  debilitating  and  unsettling  in  its 
tendencies.  Their  doubt  was  not  wallingly  forged.  It  was 
trodden  out  of  the  wine-press  of  their  affliction.  It  was  the 
doubt  of  an  anchor  torn  from  its  hold,  and  grappling  for 
another  place  to  catch  its  fluke. 

"Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,"  Jesus  had  said.  How 
could  the  disciples  help  being  troubled?  They  listened  to  his 
words  of  comfort.  He  was  pointing  them  to  the  Father. 
Philip  caught  at  the  sound:  "Lord,  show  us  the  Father."  Jesus 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    FRIENDS 


397 


had  marveled  at  their  unbelief,  and  rebuked  them  for  it.  He 
rebuked  Philip  now,  but  it  was  a  kind  rebuke,  and  a  very  sad 
one.  "Have  I  been  so  loni^:  time  with  you,  and  dost  thou 
not  know  me,  Philip?  he  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father."  Christ's  whole  life  had  been  an  answer  to  Philip's 
prayer.  Yet  amid  the  answer  Philip  was  still  praying.  The 
mission  of  Christ  upon  earth  had  been  to  show  men  the  Father, 
and  who  had  believed  his  report?  Men    had  in  all  ages  been 


THE  ALLEGED  TOMBS   OF  ABSALOM,    ZECHARIAH   AND  JAMES. 
WITH    GREEK    GETHSEMANE    IN    THE    DISTANCE 


feeling  after  God,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  him  and  find 
him;  Christ  came  to  show  that  he  was  not  far  from  every  one 
of  them.  No  man  had  seen  God  at  any  time,  but  the  only 
begotten  Son  who  w^as  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  came  to 
declare  him,  and  show  the  Father  to  the  children. 

It  is  a  simple  theology  which  cleaves  the  universe  into  two 
equal  kingdoms  of  good  and  evil,  and  says  of  each  good  thing, 
"It  is  from  God,"  and  of  each  bad  one,  "It  is  of  the  devil."  It 
is  much  the  same  when  for  the  devil  we  substitute  inexorable 
law.     The  progress  of  our  thought  leaves  diminished  space  in 


398  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

the  world  for  dualism.  Only  one  God  is  possible  to  modern 
thought.  There  is  one  God.  But  who,  and  what,  is  the  God 
of  modern  thought? 

Science  gives  us  a  more  absolute  monotheism;  it  makes 
the  worship  of  many  gods  impossible,  but  it  raises  anew  the 
question  of  the  character  of  the  one  God.  We  cannot  pray 
to  a  God  of  mixed  motives  or  vacillating  purposes  or  variable 
whims.  We  cannot  hold  spiritual  communion  with  inexorable 
fate.  The  revelation  of  Jesus  was  never  so  indispensable  as  just 
now.     "Lord,  show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us." 

"It  suf^ceth  us."  Yes,  and  no.  It  might  not  suffice  us  to 
know  God  as  Father;  it  does  suffice  as  Christ  has  shown  him. 
The  Athenian  notion  of  God's  fatherhood  did  not  sui^ce.  "We 
are  also  his  ofifspring"  is  a  noble  but  incomplete  sentiment. 
We  must  know  such  fatherhood  as  Jesus  revealed,  and  such 
fellowship  as  he  established,  and  such  assurance  as  he  made 
real,  and  this  sufficeth  us. 

Then  Jesus  told  them  more  of  his  impending  departure.  He 
was,  indeed,  to  go  from  them,  but  was  still  to  be  with  them, 
and  they  were  to  have  him  ever  present,  in  the  continued 
guidance  of  the  Spirit,,  perpetuating  and  widening  his  own 
presence.  Of  the  Spirit  he  promised,  "He  shall  declare  unto 
you  the  things  that  are  to  come." 

The  promise  that  the  Spirit  shall  show  us  things  to  come  is 
not  a  promise  of  ability  to  foretell  the  future.  Rather  it 
means,  "He  shall  interpret  to  you  things  as  they  come."  If 
our  Lord's  promise  were  simply  that  things  were  to  be 
revealed  in  advance,  it  is  easy  to  imagine  that  he  himself  might 
have  told  them  in  advance  instead  of  reserving  them,  as  he 
expressly  did,  saying,  "I  have  many  things  to  say  unto  you." 
If  foretelling  were  the  Spirit's  one  office,  then  the  many  things 
which  Jesus  had  to  say  he  might  conceivably  have  said,  even 
though  the  disciples  doubtless  were  not  able  to  bear  them, 
waiting  till  such  time  as  they  were  ready,  and  establishing 
meantime  a  new  proof  of  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  Mani- 
festly, the  progress  of  events  and  the  leadings  of  the  Spirit 
were  to  be  interpretative,  and  this  was  the  special  office  of  the 
Snirit. 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    FRIENDS 


399 


The  need  of  prescience,  in  the  technical  sense  of  the  term,  is 
limited  and  occasional.  The  need  of  insight  which  is  truly- 
prophetic  is  constant  and  universal.  Once  in  a  long  time  God 
may  tell  a  man  and  commission  him  to  tell  his  fellow  men  of 
the  coming  destruction  of  a  city.  In  this  way  God  told  Abra- 
ham of  the  coming  doom  of  Sodom,  Isaiah  of  the  destruction 
of  Tyre,  and  Jeremiah  of  the  impending  desolation  of  Jerusa- 
lem.   But  there  is  daily  need  that  cities  shall  be  preserved  from 


GETHSEMANE   AND   THE    MOUNT   OF   OLIVES 


the  doom  of  anarchy,  bad  government,  worldliness  and  shame, 
through  the  ability  of  living  men  to  interpret  the  message  of 
the  Spirit  of  God  to  the  world  and  Church  of  to-day.  Again 
there  rings  forth  the  sevenfold  cry  of  the  Apocalypse,  "He 
that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 
the  Churches." 

If  inspired  men  of  old  could  have  foreseen,  their  foresight 
would  often  have  prevented  the  realization  of  their  predictions. 


400 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


The  hazard,  the  uncertainty,  has  at  every  step  been  an  impor- 
tant element  in  determining"  the  event.  Among  all  our  bless- 
ings, one  of  the  greatest  is  that  we  do  not  know  what  is  to 
come,  and  another  is  that  the  Spirit  interprets  the  true  signifi- 
cance of  "things  as  they  come." 

We  are  too  readily  content  with  the  discoverv  of  an  origin. 
There  where  our  inquiry  too  commonly  ends,  it  should  begin. 


OLD    OLIVE    TREE    IN    GETHSEM.^NE 


We  seem  to  say  that  if  we  may  but  prove  that  God  in  the 
beginning  made  the  world,  we  may  acquit  him  of  responsibility 
for  it  thereafter.  But  in  truth,  if  the  world  has  no  present 
need  of  God,  the  history  of  its  past  need  is  not  of  any  very  vital 
importance.  If  the  original  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  made 
subsequent  inspiration  superfluous,  and  they  may  be  utilized 
without  present  aid  of  the  Spirit,  then  it  were  a  fair  question 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    FRIENDS 


401 


whether  such  inspiration  were  not,  in  the  long  run,  a  detri- 
ment. But  the  Bible  plainly  sets  forth  that  creation  is  con- 
tinuous, that  inspiration  is  continuous.  If  we  deny  these 
truths  in  order  that  we  may  exalt  a  past  inspiration  or  glory 
in  a  completed  creation,  we  add  nothing  to  God's  glory,  but 
rather  deny  him  the  glory  of  a  creative  work  even  now  but 
begun,  and  a  revelation  by  his  Spirit  which  can  never  be  com- 
plete till  the  last  redeemed  soul  has  learned  its  final  lesson  in 


ON    THE    WAY    TO    GETHSEMANE — ( C.     SCHONHEKR) 


a  world  beyond.     We  still  are  guided  by  the  Spirit  interpreting 
to  us  things  as  they  come. 

Jesus  talked  long  with  the  disciples  in  the  upper  room.  He 
prayed  with  them,  too,  and  earnestly.  And  then,  when  the 
night  was  at  the  midnight  hour,  and  the  full  paschal  moon 
shone  down  from  the  meridian,  he  and  the  disciples  passed  out 
into  the  silent  streets,  and  into  the  garden,  hitherto  the  scene 
of  his  rest  and  prayer,  and  now  to  be  the  scene  of  his  agony 
and  betraval. 


CHAPTER  XL 

JESUS  AMONG  HIS  ENEMIES 

The  Greeks  and  Latins  point  to  different  gardens  as  that  of 
Gethsemane.  but  the  original  garden  must  have  been  larger 
than  either,  and  may  have  included  both.  The  Latin  Geth- 
semane is  that  most  commonly  visited  by  American  tourists. 
It  is  more  of  a  garden  and  would  be  a  sadly  inspiring  place 
but  for  the  tawdry  shrines,  the  manifest  imposition,  and  the 
coarse  attempt  to  locahze  each  incident  of  the  agony.  There 
are  eight  old  olive  trees  whose  antiquity  needs  no  certificate, 
but  which  cannot  be  nineteen  hundred  years  old,  though  they 
are  possibly  half  that  age.  Here,  or  in  some  garden  close  at 
hand,  near  the  road  to  Bethany  over  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
Jesus  suffered  and  was  betrayed. 

Wearied  and  overborne  with  sorrow,  the  disciples  slept,  but 
Jesus  struggled  with  the  question  whether  it  might  be  possible 
for  God  in  some  other  way  to  accomplish  the  world's  salvation. 
Through  the  night  came  the  soldiers,  their  torches  flashing 
amid  the  trees.  They  went  not  far  into  the  garden;  he  who 
was  in  hiding  there  came  forth  to  meet  them.  Then  Peter 
struck  his  blow,  and.  bewildered  at  Christ's  rebuke,  ran  with 
the  rest;  and  Judas,  having  done  his  devilish  work,  slunk  ofY 
in  the  night,  leaving  Jesus  alone  among  his  enemies. 

Jesus  endured  a  sevenfold  trial.  First,  he  was  taken  to 
Annas,  father-in-law  of  the  high-priest,  and  owner  of  the  dove 
hatcheries  whose  sales  to  the  temple  Jesus  had  twice 
obstructed.  He  had  been  leader  in  this  dastardly  scheme,  and 
to  his  house,  by  preconcerted  arrangement,  the  ofHcers  took 
Jesus.  Peter  followed,  and  so  did  John;  and  as  John  had 
acquaintances  in  the  family,  he  obtained  admission,  and  later, 
seeing  Peter  at  the  door,  went  out  and  brought  him  in.    Jesus 

402 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    ENEMIES  403 

had  his  informal  examination  l^efore  Annas,  and  then  they  led 
him  across  the  court  to  Caiaphas,  the  high-priest,  and  passing 
Peter  on  the  way,  just  as  Peter — alas,  poor  Peter! — was  deny- 
ing him.  What  a  look  of  sorrow  was  that  which  Jesus  gave 
him,  as,  bound  and  insulted,  he  v/as  led  by,  and  Peter,  the 
brave,  the  resolute,  the  boastful,  lifted  up  his  voice  only  to 


JESUS     IN     GETHSEMAXE — (LISKA.) 

deny  him!  Is  it  any  wonder  that  Peter  went  out  and  wept  bit- 
terly? The  arraignment  was  soon  over,  and  Jesus  was  held  to 
appear  before  the  Sanhedrin,  which  was  hastily  convened  in 
illegal  session  before  daylight.  Meantime  his  enemies  hur- 
riedly gathered  evidence  against  him.  They  nearly  failed  of 
this;  they  had  conducted  their  plan  of  capture  with  so  much 


404 


JESUS     OF     \AZARETM 


of  secrecy  that  they  had  not  fortified  themselves  with  evi- 
dence for  the  trial,  and  their  witnesses  did  not  ao^ree.  But  by 
dilig"ent  effort  they  were  able  to  procure  witnesses  who  testi- 
fied that  Jesus  had  threatened  to  destroy  the  temple  and 
rebuild  it  in  three  days.  Even  this  was  less  than  they  wished, 
and  the  hic^h-priest  demanded  of  Jesus.  "Answerest  thou  noth- 
ini:^?  what  is  it  which  these  witness  as^ainst  thee?  But  he 
held  his  peace,  and  answered  nothing.     Again  the  high  priest 


THE   DENIAL   OF   PtTER — (HAKK.XCH) 

asked  him,  and  saith  unto  him.  Art  thou  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  Blessed?  And  Jesus  said,  I  am:  and  ye  shall  see  the 
Son  of  man  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming 
with  the  clouds  of  heaven.  And  the  high  priest  rent  his 
clothes,  and  saith.  What  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses? 
Ye  have  heard  the  blasphemy:  what  think  ye?  And  they  all 
condemned  him  to  be  worthy  of  death"  (Mark  14:  60-64). 
When  daylight  came  they  convened  in  formal  session  and  rati- 
fied the  action  alreadv  determined. 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    ENEMIES 


40s 


But  the  Jews  could  not  execute  a  death  sentence,  so  they 
sent  Jesus  to  Pilate.  The  charge  of  blasphemy,  on  which  they 
had  condemned  him,  was  not  one  to  which  Pilate  would  give 
attention,  so  they  at  first  demanded  that  their  verdict  should 
be  approved  without  a  review  of  the  evidence.     When  Pilate 


CHRIST    BEFORE    PILATE — (hOFMANN,     1824 — ) 


insisted  on  the  accusation,  they  charged  him  with  stirring  up 
an  insurrection.  Pilate  was  not  convinced,  and  finding  that 
Jesus  was  from  Galilee,  he  endeavored  to  evade  responsibility 
and  at  the  same  time  to  show  courtesy  to  Herod,  with  whom 
he  had  been  on  bad  terms,  by  giving  Jesus  a  change  of  venue; 
so  he  waived  jurisdiction  and  sent  him  to  Herod. 


4o6 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


Herod  was  pleased  to  see  Jesus,  and  at  once  invited  him  to 
jierform  a  miracle  for  his  amusement.  In  this  he  was  dis- 
appointed, for  Jesus  stood  silent  before  him,  and  Herod  re- 
manded him  to  Pilate  for  formal  trial. 

Pilate  was  at  his  wits'  end.  He  did  not  want  to  crucify 
Jesus;  he  did  not  believe  him  guilty.  He  attempted  to  dis- 
charge him  by  resort  to  an  old  custom  by  which  a  siui^^le  crim- 
inal was  set  at  liberty  at  the  time  of  the  passover.     ]^>ut  the 


CHRIST    LEAVINC;    THE    PRAETOKIl'M — ( DOKE,    1833-1883) 


people,  urged  by  the  priests,  demanded  the  release  of  Barab- 
bas,  a  well  known  insurrectionist,  instead.  Pilate  was  tempted 
to  defy  the  priests  and  people  and  set  Jesus  at  liberty,  but  the 
priests  threatened  to  do,  what  later  they  did,  report  him  to 
Rome  and  secure  his  removal;  and  they  had  a  ])lausil)]e  charge, 
"If  thou  release  this  man,  thou  art  not  Cresar's  friend:  every 
one  that  maketh  himself  a  king  speaketh  against  Csesar"  (John 
19:  12).  This  was  the  threat  that  Pilate  could  not  bear.  He 
declared  that  the  responsibility  was  theirs,  not  his,  and  he  sen- 
tenced Jesus  to  be  crucified. 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    ENEMIES 


407 


After  the  trial  and  condemnation,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  time,  they  laid  the  cross  on  Jesus  to  bear  it  to  the 
place  of  execution.  Upon  the  back  where  the  cruel  scourge 
had  done  its  wicked  work,  was  laid  the  rough  and  heavy  beam. 
Jesus  had  passed  a  sleepless  night,  without  food,  amid  scenes 
and  experiences  most  harrowing  to  the  feelings,  and  follow- 
ing,  as  it   did,   a   week  of  the  most    intense   excitement   and 


THE    SORROWFUL    WAY 


fatigue.  He  now  came  to  the  dread  hour  with  strength 
exhausted,  though  with  faith  triumphant.  See  him  as  he  goes 
forth  from  Pilate's  judgment  hall  bearing  the  cruel  cross.  Heavy 
is  the  load,  yet  he  bears  it  uncomplainingly.  But  he  bears  it 
with  faihng  human  strength.  No  smallest  particle  of  his 
divine  power  avails  to  lighten  in  the  remotest  degree  that 
crushing  load.     That  power,  so  ready  to  relieve  the  suffering 


4o8  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

or  even  to  add  to  the  pleasure  of  others,  is  impotent  in  his  own 
behalf.  He  saved  others;  himself  he  cannot  save.  Alone  he 
treads  the  wine-press;  alone  he  bears  on  his  heart  the  sorrows 
and  sins  of  the  world. 

As  the  sad  procession  slowly  wends  its  way  out  of  the  city, 
and  ere  it  yet  has  passed  the  gates,  the  step  grows  more  feeble, 
the  form  bends  lower,  the  strength  ebbs  away.  He  falls  behind 
the  malefactors  as  they  are  hurried  along.  The  crowd  hoots 
in  derision;  the  soldiers  command  him  to  move  on  and  keep 
up  with  the  others.  He  makes  the  effort;  he  staggers  ahead: 
he  reels;  he  falls  in  the  street,  and  still  relentlessly  there  lies 
on  his  prostrate  form  the  w'eight  of  that  accursed  burden.  Will 
not  God  lift  it?  Has  divine  pity  no  compassion  now?  Will 
no  one  remove  it?  Are  human  and  divine  sympathies  alike 
dead?  The  w'omen  of  Jerusalem  have  for  years  provided  by 
subscription  for  the  purchase  of  wine  and  myrrh  for  all  who 
are  crucified,  that  by  partial  stupefaction  they  may  be  relieved 
of  some  part  of  the  anguish  of  the  crucifixion.  Some  of  these 
now  drop  tears  of  sympathy  as  they  see  him  sink  beneath  the 
cross.  But  has  the  heart  of  man  no  sympathy,  that  there  is 
none  with  strong  arms  as  well  as  tender  heart  to  lift  the  cross 
and  bear  it  for  him  to  Calvary? 

Yet.  if  pity  did  not  lighten  Jesus'  burden,  impatience  at  the 
delay  did.  The  soldiers  were  in  a  hurry.  The  Jews  were  anx- 
ious to  get  back  to  the  feast.  Clearly  the  strength  of  Jesus 
was  unequal  to  the  load;  some  one  must  be  found  to  bear  his 
burden.  Here  came  a  foreigner.  Neither  by  the  Jews  nor 
Romans  were  the  foreigners  held  in  high  esteem.  Let  him 
bear  it.    And  bear  it  he  did. 

In  what  spirit  did  Simon  bear  the  cross?  He  w^as  indignant, 
no  doubt,  at  the  disgrace.  He  had  a  right  to  be.  He  smarted 
under  a  sense  of  injustice.  \\'hat  had  he  done,  a  peaceable 
visitor  to  Jerusalem,  that  he  should  be  treated  as  the  com- 
panion of  a  criminal?  The  reproaches  of  the  Lord  came  on 
him  with  the  burden,  and  now  and  again  he  was  struck  by  the 
flying  missiles  that  passed  over  the  bent  form  of  Christ.  Ah, 
Simon,   didst   thou  but   know  it,     the    highest    archangel    in 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    ENEMIES 


409 


heaven  would  count  it  eternal  honor  to  descend  to  earth  and 
take  thy  burden  on  his  back!  Yet  it  is  reserved  for  thee  to 
be  remembered  forever  as  the  man  who  in  the  hour  of  his 
dire  extremitv  lichtened  the  Saviour's  load!  No  apostle,  no 
future  leader  of  the  Church  has    thy  privile^^e    to-day.     Not 


CRUCIFIXION — (boUGUEREAU,     1825 — ) 


Simon  Peter  but  the  Cyrenian,  a  foreigner  and  a  heathen,  is 
honored  with  that  sad  but  glorious  privilege.  O  Simon,  do  not 
underestimate  the  honor  of  this  hour!  It  is  thine  to  minister  to 
One  who  needs,  oh,  how  sadly,  human  companionship!  He 
longed  for  it  last  night  when  he  found  his  disciples  sleeping.  He 
longed  for  it  as  amid  the  indignities  of  the  trial  and  the  guard- 


4IO  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

room,  lookinjT  from  face  to  face  to  find  one  that  showed  sym- 
pathy. He  looks  to  heaven  for  it,  and  the  crowd  cries,  "Let  be; 
let  us  see  whether  Elijah  will  come  unto  him."  God  will  not 
send  Elijah,  though  Elijah  would  gladly  come,  but  he  has  sent 
Simon.  Be  careful,  Simon,  lest  thou  esteem  as  a  disgrace  the 
crowning  honor  of  thy  life!  That  which  at  this  moment  is  thy 
shame  shall  be  thy  name's  patent  to  immortality! 

There  is  some  reason  to  think  that  Simon  was  impressed 
with  the  sense  of  his  real  service.  Whether  by  the  mien  of 
the  Man  of  sorrows,  his  heart  was  touched  like  that  of  the 
penitent  seditionist  on  the  cross,  or  whether  he  later  learned 
for  whom  he  had  borne  the  cross,  there  is  a  distinct  tradition 
by  no  means  improbable,  that  Simon  became  an  early  convert 
to  Christianity.  The  fact  that  the  evangelists  knew  him,  and 
not  only  him  but  his  sons,  and  assumed  that  their  readers,  or 
some  of  them,  would  know  his  sons  and  be  interested  in  the 
fact  that  it  was  the  father  of  Rufus  and  Alexander  who  bore 
the  cross,  lends  no  little  support  to  this  tradition.  Let  us 
gladly  believe,  and  we  may  believe,  that  Simon  did  not  despise 
his  privilege,  but  counted  it  an  honor  that  he  had  borne  the 
cross  for  Jesus. 

Seven  times  during  the  six  hours  of  crucifixion,  Jesus  spoke. 

The  first  word  was  at  nine  o'clock  when  he  prayed  for  the 
soldiers  who  nailed  him  to  the  tree,  "Father,  forgive  them; 
for  they  know  not  what  they  do"  (Luke  2y.  34). 

The  second  word  from  the  cross  was  the  answer  to  the  peni- 
tent robber,  "Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  To-day  thou  shalt  be  with 
me  in  Paradise"  (Luke  23:43). 

The  third  w^ord,  as  darkness  settled  over  the  city,  was  that 
of  tender  care  for  his  mother,  "When  Jesus  therefore  saw  his 
mother,  and  the  disciple  standing  by,  whom  he  loved,  he  saith 
unto  his  mother.  Woman,  behold,  thy  son!  Then  saith  he  to 
the  disciple.  Behold,  thy  mother!"     Qohn  19:  26,  ly?) 

The  fourth  utterance  of  Jesus  was  the  cry  of  agony  and 
human  suffering,  the  cry,  possibly,  of  temporary  uncertainty 
and  doubt,  yet  of  heroic  faith  in  God.  "And  about  the  ninth 
hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,    saying,    Eli,    Eli,    lama 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    ENEMIES 


411 


sabachthani?  that  is,  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me?"     (Matt.  27:  46.) 

The  fifth  word  from  the  cross  was  caused  by  the  fever  and 
loss  of  blood.     "I  thirst"  (John  19:  28). 

The  sixth  word  of  Jesus  just  before  he  died,  was,  "It  is  fin- 
ished" (John   19:  30). 

The  seventh  and  last  word  of  the  Saviour  on  the  cross  was. 
''Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit"  (Luke  23:  46). 

So  dragged  the  leaden  hours  from  nine  till  three,  and  Jesus 


THE    TOMBS     OF    THE     KINGS — JERUSALEM 


w-as  dead.  The  priests  had  their  way;  the  mob  triumphed; 
Jesus  died  upon  the  cross.  But  from  that  day  the  cross 
became  the  scepter  in  the  hand  of  God  for  the  ruling  of  the 
world  by  love — the  love  of  God  in  Christ. 

Jesus  had  not  lacked  a  voice  raised  in  his  behalf.  Nico- 
demus  had  protested — had  done  his  utmost  to  prevent  the 
murderous  deed.  Now  Nicodemus  came  with  Joseph  of  Ari- 
math?ea,  and  the  precious  body  of  the  Son  of  God,  wrapped 
in  clean  linen,  and  embalmed  in  a  hundred  w^eight  of  spices, 
is  laid  in  a  new  tomb  in  the  warden. 


412 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


The  Church  of  th?  Holy  Sepn  chrj  ha-  lon_<2^  been  supposed 
to  cover  the  spot  of  the  cruciiixion  and  the  tomb  of  Christ. 
The  surroundings  arc  most  imsuitablc,  and  the  evidence  is 
thoroughly  unsatisfactory.  There  is  the  best  of  reason  to 
believe,  and  modern  discoveries  have  made  it  all  but  certain, 
that  the  site  of  the  jircsent  Cliurch  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at 
the  time  of  the  crucifixion  was  within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem. 


THE    ENTOMBMENT — (  PERUGINO,     I446-I524) 


The  evidence  is  far  more  favorable  to  the  "New  Calvary," 
sometimes,  and,  most  unhappily,  known  as  "Gordon's  Cal- 
vary," just  north  of  the  Damascus  gate.  Here  at  the  time 
of  my  own  visit,  we  held  a  service  one  Sunday  morning  in 
spring,  w^lien  nature  had  reproduced  the  external  conditions 
of  the  time  of  the  crucifixion.  It  is  of  this  spot,  and  not  that 
covered  by  the  church  within  the  walls,  and  more  deeply  cov- 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    ENEMIES 


413 


ered  under  superstitions,   strifes  and   unhallowed  memories- 
that  we  shall  think  as  we  sing. 

There  is  a  green  hill  far  awaj-. 

Without  a  city  wall; 
Where    the    dear    Lord    was    crucified, 

Who  died  to  save  us  all. 


THE    STONE    OF    AXOIXTMEXT 
IN    THE   CHURCH    OF    THE    HOLY    SErULCJIRE 


Jesus  was  dead.  The  long  ripening  hostility  of  the  Jews 
had  had  its  triumph  in  his  complete  destruction.  His  follow- 
ers were  reduced  in  number  from  the  noisy,  ignorant  band  who 
cheered  his  entry  into  the  city,  to  a  handful  of  Galilsean  fisher- 
men, and  these  had  fled  dismayed  to  some  corner  of  Jerusalem 
where  they  hid  in  terror,  and  sat  in  stupid  inability  to  realize 
what  had  befallen  their  hopes.    With  a  joy  that  was  too  guilty 


414 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


to  remain  satisfied,  and  that  contained  within  it  the  unde- 
fined feeling  that  in  some  way  their  triumph  mi<;ht  not  last. 
the  Jews  made  fast  the  door  of  the  sepulchre.  "Make  it  as 
sure  as  ye  can,"  said  Pilate,  and  they  made  it  fast.  The  seal 
of  Pilate  made  it  secure,  and  a  specially  deleoated  band  of  sol- 
diery watched  through  the  Sabbath  and  the  night  following. 
Well  might   it   be  asked,   Who   shall   roll  awav   the   stone? 


-  .4  >  ■ 


THE  TOMB   IN    THE   GARDEN    AT   CALVARY 


Who  could  do  it?  Who  dared  do  it?  The  dangerous  man  who 
for  three  years  had  disturbed  the  peace  of  Jerusalem  was 
behind  that  stone,  dead,  and  his  cause  w^as  dead  with  hini. 

It  is  written  in  the  second  Psalm  that  after  wicked  men  have 
done  their  worst  against  God.  "He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens 
shall  laugh."  God  held  in  derision  all  these  precautions. 
There  is  no  tomb  that  can  imprison  the  life  of  God. 


JESUS    AMONG    HIS    ENEMIES 


415 


Under  the  brow  of  the  New  Calvary  toward  Jerusalem  is 
a  garden,  and  in  the  o-arden  a  tomb.  I  visited  it  early  on  a 
Sunday  morning  in  springtime.  Yonder  lay  the  city,  its  high 
wall  standing  cold  and  gray  and  casting  its  shadow  toward 
us;  above  rose  the  green  and  solemn  summit  of  Calvary;  and 
around  us  the  flowers  were  blooming  in  beauty.  Sudden  and 
irresistible  was  the  question  that  presented  itself  to  our  minds, 
Is  this  the  very  tomb  of  Jesus?  We  do  not  know  the  answer; 
it    is  better    that  we  do  not.     But    the  contrast    is  marked 


"there  is  a  greex  hill  far  away" 


between  this  and  the  tomb  within  the  city.  There  is  no  super- 
stition here,  no  unseemly  strife,  no  invention  of  priests.  It 
is  a  tomb,  cold  and  dark  and  solemn,  and  with  no  tradition 
to  give  it  spurious  sanctity.  With  reverent  feet  we  walked 
away,  leaving  the  hush  of  the  Sunday  calm  unbroken.  But 
the  garden  and  its  tomb  and  the  flowers  and  the  sun  all  com- 
bined to  interpret  anew  the  story  of  the  entombment  in  the 
garden.  It  is  better  that  no  tradition  marks  the  spot,  and 
no  shrine  rises  above  it:  the  worshiper  may  look  within  the 
tomb  and  sav,  "He  is  not  here,  but  is  risen  as  he  saith." 


CHAPTER  XLI 


EASTER 


If  the  jTospel  story  had  ended  with  the  crucifixion,  the  Bible 
would  have  been  the  saddest  of  books.  We  could  not  say  even 
then  that  Christ's  life  had  been  a  failure;  no  i^ood  life  whollv 
fails.  But  we  should  be  left  to  feel  the  awful  fact  that  men  had 
killed  the  best  friend  of  humanity,  and  no  act  of  God  restrained 
them  or  undid  their  work.  The  constructive  plan  of  the  cen- 
turies would  have  met  destruction  in  a  day.  The  fearful  crime 
of  a  mob  in  one  brief  hour  would  have  stood  as  the  deliberate 
choice  of  humanity  for  all  the  ages,  crucifying  its  King.  But 
God  knew  that  that  mad  act  did  not  represent  the  world's  final 
verdict.  Jesus,  risen  from  the  dead  and  manifest  to  the  world, 
shall  yet  be  hailed  as  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords. 

The  sun  emerged  that  Sunday  morning  in  April  from  the 
blackest  cloud  that  ever  hid  the  face  of  heaven.  The  earth 
had  risen  from  the  death  of  winter,  and,  clad  in  its  resurrec- 
tion robe  of  green,  greeted  the  resurrection  morning.  New 
life,  new  hope,  throbbed  in  earth  and  sky,  thrilling  every'  bud 
and  blade  and  blossom  with  the  tidings  of  the  resurrection, 
giving  tune  to  the  song  of  every  bird  as  it  caroled  of  God's 
new  life  for  men.  Through  all  this  chorus  of  beauty,  this 
vision  of  heaven  on  earth,  the  women  walked  sadly  to  the 
tomb,  wondering  who  would  roll  away  the  stone.  They  were 
seeking  the  body  of  the  dead  Christ.  But,  O  ^Nlary  of  Mag- 
dala,  groping  thy  way  to  the  sepulchre  in  the  shadows  of  a 
strange  city,  bearing  spices  to  anoint  the  Lord's  body,  the 
other  Mary  who  anointed  him  while  living,  has  done  thy  work 
for  thee;  and  God  will  anoint  him  this  morning  with  the  oil  of 
coronation,  declaring  him  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power 
by  the  resurrection  of  the  dead!    O  ye  devoted  women,  the 

416 


EASTER 


417 


last  to  leave  his  pierced  body,  and  the  first  to  seek  it,  take 
back  your  spices  and  balm;  for  God  has  this  day  a  balm  for 
heavy  hearts  in  all  ages  to  come.  Nor  ask  wonderinj^ly  who 
shall  roll  away  the  stone,  nor  regret  too  late  that  ye  did  not 
waken   Peter  from  his  heavy  slumber;  a  message  more  glad 


EASTER     MORNING — (bOUGUEREAU,     1825 — ) 


shall  waken  him  and  the  world,  and  a  heavy  stone  shall  be 
rolled  this  day  from  the  tomb  of  sorrow  and  despair!  Hasten, 
O  ye  faithful  women,  for  the  sun  is  about  to  rise!  Be  there  ere 
the  day  break  and  the  shadows  flee  away;  yet  before  you  arrive 
at  the  tomb,  the  Sun  of  righteousness  will  have  risen  on  the 
hearts  of  men  with  healing  in  his  wings.     Here  is  the  garden, 


4i8 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


and  yonder  is  the  tomb;  but  the  stone  is  rolled  awav.  and  li.s^ht 
breaks  from  the  dark  recesses  of  the  cave.  Hasten,  and  tell 
his  disciples  and  the  world!  Run,  for  never  messeng'ers  bore 
to  men  such  tidiness!  \\'ake  and  hear  it,  ye  sorrowing  disciples; 
wake  and  answer  it  with  your  flowers  and  soni^s,  O  earth  of 
the  Easter  sunrise!    He  is  risen!    He  is  risen! 

The  resurrection  story  was  no  forethought  of  the  disciples. 
They  were  not  antici])ating  it.  It  was  no  clever  ruse  on  their 
part,  nor  was  it  a  delusion  born  of  their  hope.  Thev  had  no 
hope  to  give  birth  to  such  a  dream;  no  courage  to  proclaim 


ilARV    AT    THE    SEPULCHRE — (  E.    BURNE-JONES) 


it;  no  motive  to  originate  a  fraud  for  the  sake  of  dying  for  it. 

Nor  was  the  resurrection  storv  an  afterthought  of  the  disci- 
ples. The  story  did  not  originate  years  afterward  in  another 
place.  It  sprang  into  being  at  the  mouth  of  that  empty  sepul- 
chre whose  door  stood  removed,  allowing  all  in  search  of  evi- 
dence to  peer  into  the  dark  void  beyond.  The  resurrection 
story  is  no  myth.  The  stone  was  rolled  away — the  women  did 
not  move  it.  If  they  could  have  moved  the  stone  they  could 
not  have  moved  the  world  as  the  risen  Christ  has  done. 

There  are  times  when  love  is  a  safer  guide  than  cold  intellect. 
There  are  things  that  are  b-etter  understood  bv  the  heart  of 


EASTER 


419 


affection  than  the  brain  of  reason.  True,  every  proposition  of 
revelation  must  be  tested  by  reason.  Reach  out  thy  tinker, 
Reason,  and  put  it  into  the  nail  prints  in  the  hand  of  historic 
Truth.  Stretch  forth  thy  hand,  Reason,  and  place  it  in  the  side 
of  revealed  Verity.  But  there  are  chasms  which  Reason  can- 
not leap,  on  the  other  side  of  which  Faith  stands  with  sure 
footing.  For  He  who  made  our  hearts  with  these  hopes,  has 
appointed  also  our  destiny,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  if  he  be 


HE  IS  risen! — (to.tetti,   1849 — ) 


good,  he  has  not  made  our  hopes  to  mock  us.  Human  faith 
in  immortality  is  too  serious  a  matter  for  even  God  to  trifle 
with.  The  human  soul  has  rights  not  of  its  own  choosing,  but 
rights  that  belong  to  its  very  being.  Reverently  let  us  say 
that  the  soul  has  rights  which  even  its  Creator  is  bound  bv 
the  laws  of  his  own  being,  by  his  obligation  to  his  own  virtue, 
to  respect.  Reason  tells  us  this.  But  reason  has  for  its  data 
facts   other  than   those  which   inhere   in   reason.      Tt   has   our 


420 


JESUS     OF     XAZARl-TIl 


hopes,  our  affections.  Peter  and  James  and  John  reason  the 
matter  out,  and  so  far  as  they  are  able  to  reach  a  conchision, 
see  no  j^^round  for  hope.  Neither  does  Mary  see  i^round  for 
hope,  l)ut  the  love  that  l)ring-s  her  to  the  tomb  to  weep  and  to 
anoint  her  Lord's  body,  proves  a  safer  t^uide  than  the  merj 
reason  that  sits  in  the  shadow  of  its  sorrow  and  waits  in  stujiid 
silence.  Reason  thinks  of  the  mob,  the  whip,  the  cross,  ar.d 
sees  the  stone  at  the  door.  Faith  sees  behind  the  stone  an 
opportunity  for  love  still  further  to  manifest  itself,  and  i;"oing 
to  the  tomb  it  meets  the  Lord  in  the  garden.     The  man  who 


PETER    AND   JOHN    RUNNING    TO   THE    SEPULCHRE — TEt'OENE    BURNAUD) 


smiles  com]>lacently  at  the  faith  of  his  wife,  the  alYection  which 
seems  so  inferior  to  his  cle-ar  svllo.gisms.  mav  not  himself  have 
so  safe  a  guide. 

I  do  not  decry  reason.  God's  appeal  is  to  the  reason  of  men. 
If  ancient  history  has  an}-  fact  1)etter  proved  l)y  testimonv 
than  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  let  Reason  speak.  Here 
Faith  challenges  Reason  to  do  its  best  or  worst.  We  can  af- 
ford to  feel  her  cold  finger  probing  the  tender  flesh  where  the 
nails  made  their  awful  rent,  but  we  cannot  afiford  to  be 
deceived  about  it.     But  we  need  more  than  reason.     Even  rea- 


EASTER 


421 


son  has  its  limitations.  Reason  cannot  prove  as  a  universal 
truth  that  a  straight  line  is  the  shortest  possible  distance 
between  two  points.  No  process  of  reasoning  will  prove  that 
forever  and  ever  two  and  two  must  be  four.  The  things  that 
we  most  certainly  know  are  the  things  that  we  cannot  prove. 
We  cannot  prove  our  own  existence.  \\>  cannot  prove  that 
the  world  w^as  created  before  yesterday.   We  cannot  prove  that 


THE   WALK   TO   EMMAUS — (hOFMANN,    1824 — ) 


the  whole  is  greater  than  any  of  its  parts.  But  these  things, 
which  reason  cannot  prove,  reason  accepts  as  fundamental 
truths.  In  all  reasoning  concerning  God  and  our  relations  to 
him,  the  affections  and  hopes  of  men  are  material  for  sound 
logic.  Reason  must  not  exclude  such  evidence.  Why  did  God 
give  us  these  hopes,  he  being  good,  if  not  to  ratify  them?  why 
this  affection  wdiich  death  does  not  end,  if  death  must  at  last 
end  all? 


422  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

He  who  trusts  in  God  and  believes  in  the  ^e^ospel  of  the  risen 
Christ,  has  a  firm  footing^  for  his  faith.  He  stands  on  historic 
trutli.  He  stands  on  the  supreme  manifestation  of  the  power 
of  God  exhibited  for  human  redemption.  He  stands  secure 
on  the  rock  of  firm  reason.  He  stands  on  the  hope.';  that  are 
God-given  and  universal.  He  who  suffered  under  Pontius 
Pilate,  was  crucified,  dead  and  buried,  rose  from  the  dead  the 
third  day  and  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father 
.\lmighty.  Faith  can  have  no  surer  footing  than  this  central, 
sublime  truth. 

The  news  of  the  resurrection  spread,  but  found  the  disciples 
everywhere  incredulous.  Peter  and  John  ran  quickly  to  the 
sepulchre,  and  found  it  empty. 

That  afternoon  two  of  the  disciples  were  walking  to 
Emmaus  when  Jesus  appeared,  and  walked  with  them.  What 
would  we  not  give  for  a  full  record  of  that  conversation  that 
caused  their  hearts  to  burn  within  them!  They  came  to  their 
stopping-place  and  invited  him  in.  They  sat  at  meat  and  the 
guest  became  host,  and  as  he  lifted  his  eyes  to  heaven  to  bless 
the  humble  meal,  they  knew  their  Lord. 

We  are  not  certain  of  the  site  of  Emmaus.  The  name  is 
preserved  in  Amwas.  a  village  twenty  miles  from  Jerusalem 
toward  Jaffa.  The  village  of  Kulonia,  which  is  commonly 
shown  as  Emmaus,  is  as  much  too  near  as  Amwas  is  too  far 
removed.  The  village  of  Kubebeh  is  about  the  right  distance, 
which  Luke  gives  as  three-score  furlongs,  or  seven  and  a  half 
miles,  but  the  tradition  in  its  favor  goes  back  only  to  the 
fifteenth  century.  All  these  arc  west  or  northwest  of  Jeru- 
salem, in  which  direction  Emmaus  has  been  assumed  to  lie. 
Luke  says  nothing  about  the  direction;  and  unless  we  accept 
the  reading  in  the  Sinaitic  manuscript,  of  i6o  stadia  instead  of 
60.  in  which  case  Amwas  would  be  the  place,  we  must  abandon 
all  of  these.  Twenty  miles  would  have  been  a  long  walk  to 
begin  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  two  disciples,  starting  back 
at  sunset,  would  hardly  have  expected  to  find  the  disciples  in 
Jerusalem  assembled  on  their  return.  The  explorations  of 
Colonel  Conder  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  a  more  probable 


EASTER 


4^3 


site,  southwest,  and  in  the  g-eneral  region  of  Bethlehem.  The 
modern  name  is  Khamasa,  which  is  a  possible  corruption  of 
Emmaus.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  that  Jesus  on  this 
day  of  his  resurrection  walked,  with  feet  wounded,  but  no 
longer  weary,  over  the  same  road  along  which  Mary  carried 
him  in  her  arms  as  a  little  child.  Risen  from  the  dead,  he  left 
the  bloody  city  behind  him,  and  walked  in  the  afternoon  of 
that  spring  Sunday  toward  the  place  of  his  birth.  So  far  as 
we  know,  Jesus  had  never  trodden  the  road  in  all  the  more 
than  thirty  years  since  then.     Somewhere  on  the  wav  back  the 


1 

fa 

^^^2 

^■_ 

f"      .  - 

t            -     - 

^•,^ 

[^.■4 

-  -7 

«SET>  - 

r-'>K.^..^^^^^m 

-^_:     ''^"          '''..-^1. 

KUEEBEH,    THE    EMMAUS    OF    THE    CRUSADERS 


disciples  passed  Jesus,  for  he  left  Emmaus  before  them,  and 
arrived  in  Jerusalem  after  them.  It  is  no  wonder  that  they 
did  not  see  him,  for  they  were  in  haste,  and  it  was  getting 
dark,  and  Jesus  wished  to  be  hidden  from  them.  Somewhere 
on  the  way  he  paused  and  let  them  go  by.  I  wonder  if  he 
withdrew  a  little  from  the  road  at  its  fork  near  Rachel's  tomb, 
and  while  they  hurried  by,  intent  on  telling  what  they  had 
just  seen  and  heard,  he  rested  and  meditated  by  the  way.  The 
lights  were  appearing  in  Bethlehem,  in  plain  sight  yonder 
on  the  hill;   and  the  lights  were  aopearing  in  heaven  above  it. 


424  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

I  wonder  if  he  did  not  sit  for  a  half  hour  and  think  of  the  time 
when  the  brii^ht  star  stood  at  rest  above  his  cradle  there,  and 
of  the  manv  wonderful  thini^s  that  had  happened  in  the  more 
than  thirty  intervening  years.  Then  he  had  come,  a  helpless 
infant,  through  the  gates  of  l)irth.  into  the  humble  life  of  a 
peasant  home;  now  he  had  emerged  in  glory  through  the 
broken  gates  of  death,  and  walked  among  men  in  deathless 
power.  \\'ith  the  two  disciples  he  walked  this  road  to  where 
it  forked  and  led  to  the  right  at  Rachel's  tomb,  but  the  con- 
versation on  the  way  was  with  the  disciples,  whose  hearts  were 
burning  within  them,  and  he  was  absorbed  in  their  eager  quest 
of  truth  as  he  gave  it  to  them.  But  when  he  returned  to 
Jerusalem,  alone,  and  in  the  later  hours  of  the  same  night,  did 
he  not  pause  in  sight  of  Bethlehem,  all  silent  under  the 
heavens,  and  think  of  the  night  wdien  the  star  of  Bethlehem 
rained  down  its  light  upon  the  manger  where  he  was  born? 
The  years  had  not  been  many,  but  within  that  third  of  a  cen- 
tury a  work  had  been  accomplished  which  all  the  centuries  to 
come  can  only  make  the  more  wonderful  and  full  of  glory. 

The  two  disciples  did  not  stop  to  look  at  Bethlehem,  or  at 
anything  else.  They  rose  un  "that  same  hour"  and  returned 
to  Jerusalem.  Evidently  they  had  left  the  city  quite  early  in 
the  afternoon,  before  the  news  of  the  resurrection  had  been 
supplemented  by  the  personal  testimony  of  those  who  had  seen 
Jesus.  All  that  they  had  heard  was  that  the  women  had  seen 
a  vision  of  angels  saying  that  Jesus  was  alive,  and  that  the 
men  who  had  visited  the  tomb  had  found  it  empty,  "but  him 
they  saw  not."  So  far  as  the)'  knew,  they  themselves  were 
the  only  ones  who  had  really  seen  Jesus;  and  their  visit  with 
him  confirmed  the  reports  of  the  morning,  which  had  rather 
bewildered  than  comforted  them.  They  forgot  the  fatigue 
of  their  outward  walk  and  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  though 
still  it  was  only  "toward  evening,  and  the  day  far  spent."  The 
joy  of  the  message  they  were  bearing  gave  swiftness  to  their 
feet.  In  breathless  haste  and  with  bounding  hearts  they  made 
their  way  to  the  city,  where  they  found  the  disciples  assem- 
bled.    But  their  message  was  met  with  one  no  less  eagerly 


EASTER 


425 


told,  and  no  less  glad;  the  Lord  had  risen,  indeed,  and  had 
appeared  to  Simon.  So  they  gladdened  each  others'  hearts 
with  the  double  assurance  that  the  Lord  had  really  been  seen 
alive,  and  when  their  gladness  seemed  almost  complete,  yet 
shrouded  in  wonder  and  chastened  by  the  memory  of  their 
great  sorrow%  Jesus  himself  came  among  them,  and  spoke  his 
word  of  peace. 

A    week    later   he    came    again,   and    Thomas,    who    had 
been  absent  the  first  time,  was  there.     I  have  always  been  glad 


CHRIST   AT   EMMAUS — (pAUL   VER(IXI>E,    I  528-1588) 

that  Thomas  doubted;  it  saves  the  necessity  of  our  doubting. 
Thomas  was  there  as  the  representative  of  modern  critical 
thought;  he  w^ould  be  no  party  to  the  publication  of  a  story 
that  might  be  unfounded;  he  would  know  the  veritable  truth. 
He  carried  his  doubt  too  far  for  his  own  good,  but  not  too 
far  for  ours.  And  when  he  knew  the  truth,  he  believed  and 
was  steadfast. 

One  mighty  and  all-inclusive  truth  inspired  the  early  Church 
wath  unflagging  courage  and  unwavering  faith  in  its  appar- 
ently hopeless  task  of  conquering  the  world.     LTpon  it  hung 


426  JESUS     OF     NAZARKTH 

the  apostles'  hope  of  success  in  this  Hfe  and  of  reward  in  the 
life  to  come.  Upon  it  hung^  their  faith  in  the  divinity  of  Christ. 
Thev  believed  in  the  miraculous  birth  of  Christ,  but  they  hung 
no  argument  upon  it,  and  we  never  find  Jesus  referring  to  it. 
When  he  was  asked  to  give  a  sign  of  his  divinity,  he  gave  the 
restoration  of  the  temple  of  his  l)ody  after  a  three  days' 
destruction.  The  apostles,  likewise,  when  giving  their  view 
of  the  divinity  of  Christ,  tell  us  that  he  was  declared  to  be  the 
Son  of  God  with  power  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
It  was  Christ  risen  that  raised  from  the  dead  the  hope  of  the 
disciples.  It  was  Christ  risen  that  convinced  Thomas.  It  was 
Christ  risen  that  conquered  Paul,  and  transformed  the  malig- 
nant persecutor  into  the  serene  martyr.  It  was  Christ  risen 
that  dismayed  the  watch  at  the  sepulchre.  It  was  Christ  risen 
that  smote  the  conscience  of  Jerusalem  and  brought  about  the 
revival  at  Pentecost.  It  was  the  risen  Christ  that  was  preached 
by  the  early  missionaries.  It  was  the  vision  of  the  risen  Christ 
at  the  right  hand  of  God  that  cheered  the  dying  Stephen.  It 
is  the  presence  of  the  risen  Christ  that  makes  intelligible  what 
else  would  be  the  mystery  of  the  conduct  of  the  unlearned  and 
none  too  courageous  disciples  when  their  behavior  following 
the  resurrection  is  contrasted  with  that  which  preceded  that 
event.  They  had  seen  their  Lord  alive,  and  knew  of  his  resur- 
rection, and  this  gave  new  significance  to  all  his  previous  life. 
We.  like  them,  rest  our  faith  upon  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
from  the  dead,  and  the  work  of  his  Spirit  since  manifest  in  the 
world. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  great  historic  fact;  and  it  is 
not  an  isolated  fact.  From  it  as  from  a  fountain  have  sprung 
streams  of  influence  which  did  not  break  from  the  earth 
uncaused.  When,  a  few  days  after  the  Jews  had  put  Jesus  to 
death,  his  disciples  appeared,  not  in  Galilee  to  start  a  rumor 
among  the  ignorant  fisherfolk  about  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  but 
in  Jerusalem,  and  confronting  the  very  men  who  had  slain 
Jesus,  accused  them  of  crucifying  the  Son  of  God,  and  at  the 
same  time  afifirmed  that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead,  there 
was  a  very  simple  way  of  answering  them,  if  Jesus  was  still 


EASTER 


427 


in  the  grave;  it  was  simply  to  open  the  sepulchre  in  the  sight 
of  all  Jerusalem  and  the  disciples,  and  exhibit  the  decaying 
body  that  had  been  laid  there  a  few  days  before.  There  would 
have  been  no  difficulty  about  identifying  it  and  the  exhibition 
would  have  been  conclusive  evidence  that  he  had  been  unable  to 
fulfil  his  prophecy  of  rising  from  tlie  dead,  and  that  the  disciples 


LuKU,  I  believe:    heli'  thou  mine  uxi'.elief! 

(C.    SCHONHERR) 

were  imposing  upon  the  people  a  falsehood  when  they  asserted 
that  he  was  alive.  When  Peter  arose  and  quoted  the  words  of 
the  Psalm,  "Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  the  grave,  neither 
wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption."  he  asked, 
"Was  this  spoken  of  David?"  and  answered.  "Surely  not,  for 


428 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


David's  seculphre  is  with  iis  to  this  day."  Why  did  they  not 
say,  "So  is  the  sepulchre  of  Jesus?"  Why  did  tliey  tremble 
when  Peter  talked  of  that  empty  tomb?  Why  ditl  they,  among- 
them  large  numbers  of  priests  and  prominent  men  of  Jerusa- 
lem, unite  with  the  Church  bv  thousands?    If  the  o-rave  was 


JESUS    AT    EMMAUS — (REMBRANDT.     1607-1669) 


not  really  empty,  then  the  conduct  of  those  men,  Jews  as  well 
as  Christians,  conforms  to  no  such  laws  governing  human  con- 
duct as  those  with  which  w^e  are  familiar.  If  we  are  able  to 
explain  human  conduct,  we  make  the  history  of  those  days, 
and  of  all  days  since,  an  enigma,  except  as  we  understand  the 


EASTER 


429 


meaning  of  that  empty  tomb.  We  may  accept,  if  we  are  will- 
ing to  rest  upon  a  superficial  explanation,  the  suggestion  of 
Renan  that  Mary  Magdalene's  half-crazed  brain  evoked  the 
vision  of  the  risen  Christ.  But  what  about  Peter?  And  what 
about  Thomas?  And  what  about  Paul?  And  what  about  the 
five  hundred  others?    And  what  about  Jerusalem,  w^hich  when 


'peace  be  unto  yovt" — (kusthardt) 


confronted  by  the  empty  tomb  held  its  peace    for    want    of 
explanation? 

The  supreme  proof  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  is  the  resur- 
rection of  Christianity.  The  hope  of  the  world  lay  dead  in 
that  tomb.  It  came  to  new  life  in  him,  and  lives  immortal  in 
the  life  of  the  world  and  the  hope  of  heaven. 


CHAPTER  XLII 


THE  FORTY  DAYS  AND  THE  FUTURE 

The  Lord  had  risen,  and  the  disciples  had  seen  him.  some 
of  them  in  the  g-arden  in  the  morning-,  two  of  them  as  they 
walked  to  Emmaus  in  the  twilight,  and  ten  of  them  as  they  sat 
in  the  upper  room.  The  next  Sunday  evening  he  appeared  to 
them  again,  and  Thomas  was  with  them  then,  and  thank  God, 
thenceforth.  Then  certain  days  went  by,  either  there  or  in 
Galilee,  and  the  Lord  came  not.  How  long-  they  waited  we 
do  not  know,  but  it  was  probably  near  the  end  of  the  forty 
days  when  he  appeared  to  then-i  beside  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 
There  is  an  interval  of  some  three  weeks,  apparently,  between 
the  Jerusalem  appearances  and  the  two  in  Galilee.  What  were 
the  disciples  doing  and  thinking?  At  some  time  in  the  inter- 
val they  left  Jerusalem.  The  city  became  intolerable.  They 
were  strangers  there,  countrymen,  oppressed  by  the  crowds, 
as  the  lonely  man  in  a  crowd. 

Jerusalem!  The  city  where  the  Lord  was  crucified!  The 
city  of  an  apostate  religion,  of  a  corrupt  hierarchy,  of  a  sub- 
orned high  court,  of  a  justice  maladministered — the  very 
name  grew  to  be  hateful  to  them.  John  got  to  calling  it 
"Sodom,"  and  sometimes  modified  it  to  "Egypt."  What 
Peter  called  it,  we  are  not  told,  unless  indeed  his  much  dis- 
puted "Babylon"  may  have  been  an  allusion  to  it.  Jerusalem! 
The  city  where  they  stared  you  out  of  countenance,  and  lis- 
tened to  your  speech  to  hear  if  you  were  from  Galilee,  and 
counted  themselves  the  chosen  of  the  Lord  because  of  the 
temple  whose  courts  they  desecrated  with  their  hypocrisy — let 


*Tliis    chapter   contains   matter   abridged    from    my   little   book   "I    Go 
A-Fishing." 

4.10 


THE  FORTY  DAYS  AND  THE  FUTURE 


431 


US  away  from  it,  to  where  we  can  breathe!    So  they  may  have 
said,  or  felt. 

And  so  they  went  back  to  GaHlee.  Our  Lord  had  told  them 
to  go,  and  that  he  would  meet  them  there.  Did  they  go 
because  of  his  command,  and  were  they  expecting  to  meet 
him?  Perhaps  so,  but  three  weeks  seems  long  to  wait,  and 
when  they  met  the  Lord  at  length,  they  were  not  looking  for 


SERVICE    OF    AMERICAN     PILGRIMS 
ON    MOUNT    CALVARY 


him.  But  Capernaum  cannot  have  been  a  comfortable  place 
for  the  disciples.  Everybody  knew  everybody's  business  there 
and  felt  free  to  ask  questions.  In  Jerusalem  they  had  at  least 
the  grace  of  minding  their  own  business;  but  in  Caper- 
naum every  one  was  full  of  curious  inquiries.  What  had 
become  of  Jesus?  What  did  they  think  of  him  now?  Did  they 
really  credit  those  silly  stories  about  his  resurrection?    If  he 


432  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

had  risen,  where  was  he?  What  did  they  intend  to  do  now? 
Such  questions  must  have  met  them  on  every  hand  in  the 
Httle  fishing-  town.  Retlisaida  was  no  ])ettcr,  as  John  and 
James  soon  learned;  Xathp.Uc'el  ^ound  his  own  Cana  intoler- 
al)lc:  and  so  they  got  together,  seven  of  them — and  Thomas 
was  among  them! — rcsol\-ed  to  remain  together. 

The  weary  days  dragged  by.  There  was  nothing  stirring 
save  the  saihng  of  the  little  fleet  each  day,  and  its  looked-for 
return  at  night  or  morning  afterward,  and  the  gossip  about 
the  size  of  this  or  that  man's  catch  and  the  conjectures  about 
the  weather,  and  the  everlasting  meddlesome  village  chit-chat 
that  spared  no  man's  character  and  stopped  at  no  woman's 
threshold. 

The  return  of  the  disciples  was  a  nine  days'  wonder,  no 
doubt,  but  even  that  subject  wore  out  after  a  while,  and  the 
seven  lonely,  inactive  men  were  left  to  themselves.  There 
came  a  time  when  even  an  impertinent  question  would  have 
been  a  relief,  and  even  a  curious  stare  would  have  been  better 
than  indifference.     And  all  within  three  weeks! 

The  place  was  all  so  strange  to  the  disciples,  yet  so  familiar. 
too.  Astonishingly  familiar,  and  so  little  changed!  They  had 
lived  so  much  in  the  last  two  years,  a  century  could  hardly 
have  measured  the  distance  they  had  gone  from  their  old  lives, 
and  yet  it  was  not  so  far! 

They  wondered  that  their  old  friends  had  not  grown  older — 
they  did  not  seem  changed.  No  one  had  changed  but  them- 
selves. Why.  a  month  ago  it  had  seemed  impossible  for  the 
sun  to  rise  again  after  the  awful  cloud  hid  it  on  Calvary;  but 
it  had  risen,  and  life  had  gone  on.  and  even  that  midday  dark- 
ness was  half  forgotten  already.  These  events  that  had  burned 
their  image  into  their  own  souls — what  had  these  been  to 
other  men?  Aye,  were  they  not  growing  a  little  dim  in  their 
own  souls?  Could  they  have  been  mistaken  about  it?  What  if 
the  Lord  should  not  come  again?  What  if  they  had  come  on 
a  fool's  errand,  and  were  waiting  for  something  that  was  not 
to  come?  What  if — did  they  sometimes  ask  it? — what  if  they 
had  been  mistaken  in  thinking  that  it  was  the  Lord  they  saw? 


THE  FORTY  DAYS  AND  THE  FUTURE 


433 


And  here  they  were  hack  in  rapernauni,  and  the  three  weeks 
seemed  to  draw  a  veil  over  it  ah.  Jt  seemed  so  remote — and 
fishing  grew  more  real 

I  wonder  how  it  came  ahout — how  they  had  heen  spending 
the  intervening  Sabbaths  and   Sundays.     The    Sabbaths,    no 


JOHN    AND    THE    MOTHER    OF   JESUS — (dOBSON) 


doubt,  they  had  spent  in  the  little  synagogue  with  the  village 
worshipers,  but  no  one  else  felt  what  they  felt  of  yearning  and 
soul  hunger  in  that  place  where  the  Lord  had  spoken  and 
wrought  his  blessed  works.  Still,  they  had  something  in  com- 
mon there  with  the  life  of  other  Jew^s,  and  the  Sabbaths  were 


434  JESUS     OF     X.\ZARi:TH 

not  the  hardest  days.  The  hardest  days  may  have  been  the 
Snndays.  For  each  Sabbath  the)-  were  sayinc^.  "To-morrow 
our  Lord  may  come  to  us  ai^ain/'  and  they  shut  themselves 
up  in  Peter's  house  where  the  Lord  had  been  with  them  so 
often,  and  waited  and  prayed.  The  day  drew  to  a  close — 
he  did  not  come.  "But,"  they  said,  "it  was  evenino-  when  he 
came  before,"  so  they  waited  far  into  the  ni_s:ht  till  they  g-rew 
weary  with  watching  and  the  lamp  burned  low,  and  one  bv 
one  they  went  to  sleep. 

Thus  passed  one  Sunday,  and  the  next,  and  still  another. 
Three  Sabbaths  of  quickened  anticipation,  three  Sundays  of 
watching  and  prayer,  three  nights  of  weary  waiting,  three 
weeks  of  disappointment.  Perhaps  it  came  about  just  after 
one  of  those  Sundays.  The  rest  of  the  village  had  worked, 
of  course,  that  day,  having  rested  on  the  Sabbath,  like  honest 
Jews.  They  had  \vashed  their  nets  on  Sunday  morning,  and 
put  ofif  that  evening  just  as  the  sun  went  down,  and  now  were 
coming  in,  perhaps,  with  boat-loads  of  fish,  as  the  disciples,  red- 
eyed  and  haggard,  came  forth  from  their  vigil  and  bathed  their 
weary  faces  in  the  cool  w-aters  of  the  lake.  In  came  Peter's 
boat  with  tlie  rest  and  the  man  to  whom  Peter  had  loaned  it 
brought  it  in  shore  and  gathered  his  catch  and  carried  it  to 
market.  Peter  felt  his  soul  rising  within  him,  and  he  walked 
quickly  up  to  his  old  friend  and  said,  "Fll  use  that  boat  myself 
to-night,  if  you  please,"  and  the  man  gave  it  up  with  reluctance 
and  surprise;  he  had  come  to  think  he  owned  it.  Then  Peter 
walked  home  with  a  Ijrisk  step  and  reported.  "I  go  a-fishing!" 
he  exclaimed,  and  with  eager  voice  they  cried,  "We  also  go 
with  thee." 

They  needed  the  change,  poor  fellows,  and  they  needed  tlie 
exercise.  Such  souls  were  not  made  for  inactivity!  Moreover, 
they  needed  the  money.  Judas  had  kept  the  bag  and  its  con- 
tents, and  they  had  been  living  in  the  city,  and  Capernaum 
was  not  minded  to  board  seven  strong  fellows  for  nothing. 
Yes,  it  was  time  for  them  to  do  something.  It  was  well  for 
them  to  go  a-fishing.  That  day  new  impulse  came  into  their 
lives,  a  healthy,  normal  reaction  from  enforced  idleness.  But 
reactions  have  their  perils. 


THE  FORTY  DAYS  AND  THE  FUTURE 


435 


Oh,  the  joy  of  that  voyage,  with  sails  ah  set,  and  every  reef 
shaken  out!  How  Peter's  eye  brightened  as  he  headed  a  point 
nearer  the  wmd,  and  found  that  his  strong  right  hand  on  the 
tiUer  had  not  lost  its  cunning!  How  they  almost  shouted  for 
joy  as  the  white  spray  flew  over  the  bow  and  smote  them  with 
saucy  hilarity  in  the  face!    Oh,  the  blue  of  the  sky  above,  and 


THE    CHURCH    OF   THE    ASCENSION 

the  blue  of  the  wave  beneath!  and  the  glory  of  the  sunset, 
and  the  solemn  quiet  of  the  twilight,  when  heaven  draws 
nearer  the  hearts  of  men  than  during  the  !)usy  day! 

And  Peter  rejoiced.  Out  from  the  din  and  strife  of  the  city, 
out  from  the  gossip  and  impertinence  of  the  village,  out  under 
the  dome  of  the  blue  sky.  and  on  the  exultant  breast  of  the 
blue  lake.     O  Peter,  I  rejoice  with  you,  and  tremble  for  you! 


436  JESUS     OF     NAZARKTH 

There  was  much  to  remind  Peter  of  other  experiences  in 
that  vessel.  In  the  bow  of  that  same  boai  ilie  Lord  had  :>at 
and  preached  to  tlie  multitude  on  the  shore.  Here  in  the  stern 
he  had  lain  asleep  in  the  storm,  and  there  on  llie  narrow  deck 
he  had  stood  and  rebuked  the  wind.  What  manner  of  man 
was  this,  that  even  the  wind  and  the  sea  obeyed  him?  Men 
differed  in  their  opinions;  Peter  had  spoken  his  own  fearlessly, 
heartily,  but  this  was  oh,  so  long  ago,  and  so  much  had  hap- 
pened since  then! 

Then  they  set  to  work  at  the  fishing,  and  at  first  they 
worked  so  eagerly,  so  nervously,  they  had  no  luck.  It  would 
go  better  soon,  perhaps,  they  said,  and  what  were  Peter's 
visions  of  a  great  catch,  a  re-established  business,  an  announce- 
ment through  such  trade  channels  as  Capernaum  boasted,  that 
he  was  to  be  found  at  the  old  stand,  and  six  hale,  able  fellows 
with  him  in  the  syndicate! 

Peter  was  his  own  master  to-day.  It  was  such  a  change 
from  yesterday  and  last  year!  Oh,  the  joy  of  freedom!  Oh, 
the  pleasure  of  getting  away  from  men!  After  all,  why  had 
they  ever  deluded  themselves?  What  was  all  this  thought  of 
a  kingdom  in  which  they  should  hold  high  place?  The  king- 
dom had  not  come;  it  was  not  coming.  Down  deep  in  his  soul 
did  Peter  half  say  this?  I  sometimes  fear  that  if  Peter  and  his 
friends  had  met  success  when  they  first  began  to  fish  that 
night,  had  sailed  home  in  the  early  dusk,  had  marketed  their 
wares,  had  made  their  eager  plans  for  the  next  night,  and  gone 
to  sleep,  had  slept  as  men  sleep  who  have  fished  and  caught 
and  hope  to  fish  again,  they  might  not  have  seen  the  Lord. 

Along  the  shore  in  the  early  morning  wandered  a  solitary 
figure.  Slowly  he  walked  and  with  something  of  sadness,  yet 
there  was  in  the  virile  step  something  of  the  stride  of  the  con- 
queror. Now  he  looked  out  over  the  black  waters  where  no 
other  eye  could  discern  an  object,  and  seemed  to  rest  his  gaze 
on  something  far  out  on  the  wave.  Then  he  turned  to  the 
shore  and  looked  from  one  to  another  of  the  few  little  fishing 
cabins  in  sight,  till  he  found  one  that  had  a  light.  It  still 
lacked  something  of  earlv  dawn,  but  a  fisher's  wife  had  risen. 


THE  FORTY  DAYS  \ND  THE  FUTURE 


437 


and  was  preparins;-  her  husband's  l)reakfast  ao^ainst  his  setting 
out  for  early  fishino-,  or  his  return  from  a  night's  hil)or. 
Thither,  perhaps,  the  wanderer  bent  liis  steps,  and  stood  at 
the  door  and  knocked.  An  early  knock  with  a  request  for  fire 
was  nothing-  unusual,  and  this  was  what  he  asked — a  brand, 
and  it  was  given,  no  doubt  willingly.  We  need  not  force  into 
the  narrative  any  greater  miracle  than  that  of  the  world-wide 
humanity,  from  which  springs  a  readiness  to  bestow,  whenever 
asked,  the  common  needs  that  cost  least  and  count  for  most. 


THE   SUMMIT   OF  THE    MOUNT   OF  OLIVES    FROM    BETHPHAGE 


A  loaf  and  a  hsh  were  not  great  things  to  ask  or  receive,  and 
these  he  either  obtained  for  the  asking  or  had  brought  \vith 
him  from  some  other  home.  Perhaps  some  fisher  and  his  wife 
that  morning  ate  their  own  morsel  with  greater  content 
because  the}^  had  shared  it  with  a  stranger;  perhaps  the  fire  on 
their  own  hearth  gleamed  the  brighter  because  they  had  given 
him  a  coal. 

Down  by  the  shore  the  Master  stood,  and  swung  his  brand 
till  the  end  grew  red.     Then  he  gathered  driftwood  from  the 


438  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

shore  and  laid  across,  the  slivers  first  and  then  the  sticks,  and 
blew  the  coal  into  flame.  With  the  same  breath  he  had  fanned 
into  feeble  flame  the  faith  of  the  disciples  in  the  upper  rooiii, 
saving.  "Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost."  In  all  the  record  of  the 
gospels  there  is  no  more  beautiful,  touchins^.  impressive  pic- 
ture than  that  of  the  risen  Lord  shelterinc^  that  flame  with 
the  hands  that  had  been  nailed  to  the  cross.  In  the  glory  of 
the  complete  sacrifice  he  who  had  tasted  death  for  every 
man,  still  ministering  and  not  ministered  unto,  counted  it  not 
beneath  him  to  stoop  above  the  fire  and  cook  his  disciples' 
breakfast. 

"The  disciples  knew  not  that  it  was  Jesus."  but  they  saw 
rhe  light,  and  made  slowly  for  it.  Even  so.  I  sometimes  dare 
to  hope,  steer  many  men  to-day.  toward  a  light  they  cannot 
choose  but  see.  on  a  shore  toward  which  they  would  but  sail, 
but  alas,  they  are  so  busy  v;ith  their  fishing!  O  fishers  of 
fish,  of  dry  goods,  of  merchandise,  of  stocks  and  bonds,  watch 
the  shore  as  well  as  the  sea!  Yonder  stands  the  Master!  O 
ve  fishers  of  fish,  of  bank  accounts  and  worldly  honor,  ye  men 
of  business  and  of  care,  pass  not  too  heedlessly  the  light  and 
the  voice  on  the  shore!   It  is  your  risen  Lord  who  calls  to  you! 

There  is  no  fact  harder  to  understand  as  we  read  the  stories 
of  the  resurrection  than  the  repeated  instances  in  which  th.e 
disciples  failed  to  recognize  the  Lord.  We  might  think  that 
the  failure  to  identify  him  resulted  from  some  change  in  him- 
self; but  we  are  quite  familiar  with  analogous  experiences. 
Certainly,  for  that  night,  they  had  forgotten  to  look  for  him. 
Was  it  because  hitherto  he  had  come  to  them  on  Sunday? 
Did  they  think  it  out  of  character  for  him  to  come  to  them 
while  fishing?  If  so  their  error  has  its  modern  representatives. 
There  are  quite  too  many  people  who  look  for  the  Lord  on 
Sunday  only,  and  in  worship  to  the  exclusion  of  work.  In  one 
of  the  newly  discovered  "Sayings  of  our  Lord."  is  one  at  least 
whose  genuineness  I  should  like  to  see  established.  "Raise  the 
stone,  and  thou  shalt  find  me;  cleave  the  wood,  and  there  am 


THE  FORTY  DAYS  AND  THE  FUTURE 


439 


I."     "Where  two  or  three  are  met  together"  in  worship  or  in 
work  in  his  Spirit,  there  is  he. 

If  thou   hast    wanderings   in   the    wilderness 
And  find'st  not  Sinai,  "tis  thy  soul  is  poor. 

The  disciples  who  had  waited  in  vain  all  the  long  Sabbath 
for  him  discovered  him  while  fishing. 


THE    ASCENSION — (BIERMANN) 


When  Peter  knew  the  Lord,  he  leaped  in  and  swam  ashore, 
and  the  rest  followed  more  slowly.  Then  Peter  turned  back 
and  pulled  the  net  ashore,  and  began  to  count  the  fish.  There 
was  a  little  delay,  for,  while  the  Lord  had  breakfast  ready,  there 
was  not  enough  for  eight,  and  the}'  had  to  prepare  some  of  the 
newly  caught  fish.  Then  they  had  breakfast;  but  Peter,  who 
had  been  so  eager  to  get  ashore,  was  constrained  and  ill  at  ease 


^_^o  JESUS     OF     XAZARETII 

with  the  rest,  and  sat  in  his  wet  clothes  countinj^^  the  fish. 
John  kept  tally  on  the  count.  There  were  a  hundred  and  fifty- 
three.  It  was  a  famous  catch.  But  Jesus  interrupted  Peter's 
count  bv  asking.  "Simon,  son  of  John,  lovest  thou  me  more 
than  these?"  There  are  learned  discussions  about  the  tw^o 
w^ords  used  for  love,  and  others  about  the  comparison  "more 
than  these."     More  than  what? 

I  think — and  a  few  people  agree  with  this  interpretation — 
that  what  our  Lord  meant  was.  "Lovest  thou  me  more  than 
thou  lovest  these  fish?" 

The  readv  objection  to  this  view  is,  that  it  cheapens  the 
whole  conversation  to  compare  the  love  of  Peter  for  Christ 
to  his  love  for  a  boat-load  of  fish.  Fish  seem  very  paltry  to 
us  after  several  centuries.  It  is  easy  for  us  to  set  a  low  valua- 
tion upon  Peter's  fish. 

But  those  fish  were  Peter's  stock  in  trade.  They  represented 
his  cash  investment  in  his  new  enterprise,  his  hopes  of  a  liveli- 
hood, his  love  of  freedom — all  these.  If  he  remained  a  fisher- 
man he  might  gird  himself  and  go  where  he  liked;  if  he  loved 
Christ  "more  than  these,"  another  would  gird  him  and  lead 
him  whither  he  would  not. 

Once  Peter  could  have  answered  the  question  instantly  and 
without  reservation,  but  he  knew  better  now  wdiat  "more  than 
these"  meant.  He  had  learned  the  lesson  of  the  cross.  To 
leave  all  and  follow  Christ  meant  no  kingdom,  no  seat  at  the 
right  hand  of  an  earthly  prince — all  the  visions  had  faded  which 
possessed  his  mind  when  he  first  left  all  to  follow  Christ.  Back 
of  the  question  waited  an  ominous  hint  that  by  his  death  he 
was  to  glorify  God.  This  was  very  different  from  Peter's 
thought  when  he  first  became  a  follower  of  the  Master,  and 
he  thought  of  the  fish  again  and  yet  again  before  his  answer 
implied  all  that  Jesus  meant  in  the  (|uestion. 

Ah,  those  fish — a  hundred  and  fifty-three  fine  speckled  beau- 
ties! Peter  had  already  roughly  calculated  their  value  in 
Capernaum.  He  could  hardly  keep  his  eyes  ofT  them  while  the 
Lord  was  talking. 


THE  FORTY  DAYS  AND  THE  FUTURE 


441 


Peter  loved  Jesus,  and  said  so,  but  he  did  not  sav,  "more 
than  these."  The  second  time  Jesus  dropped  the  comparison, 
and  the  third  time  he  used  Peter's  word  for  love.  The  two 
found  common  ground  at  length  in  Peter's  understanding  that 
truly  to  love  Christ  at  all,  and  love  him  as  Christ,  he  must 
love  him  more  than  all  else.  Peter  was  grieved  because  the 
Lord  asked  him  three  times;  the  Lord  was  grieved,  perhaps, 
because  it  was  necessary  to  ask  him  so  often. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  prove  that  the  fish  were  stale.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  prove  all  things  evil  per  se  which  we  must 
give  up  for  Christ's  sake.  The  fish  were  doubtless  very  good 
fish,  but  they  were  only  fish,  and  our  fish  are  small  and  poor 
in  comparison  of  what  should  be  our  love  for  him.  Lovest 
thou  thy  Lord  more  than  these? 

Peter  realized  at  last  that  to  love  Jesus  more  than  he  loved 
his  business  and  his  plans  in  life  precluded  his  ever  being  a 
fisherman  again.  Not  even  to  be  a  fisher  of  men  was  he  now- 
called,  but  to  shepherd  the  Lord's  lambs  and  tend  his  slieep. 

Again  Jesus  turned  to  Peter  and  said,  "Follow  me."  He  had 
said  it  before,  but  it  meant  far  more  now.  Peter  was  not 
happy  in  his  distinction.  To  follow^  Christ  meant  the  cross, 
perhaps,  a  cross  certainly.  Was  he  the  only  one  to  bear  a 
cross?  He  turned  to  John  and  asked,  "What  shall  this  man 
do?"  and  Jesus  seemed  to  all  who  heard  to  say  that  John, 
unlike  Peter,  was  to  "tarry  till  I  come."  Not  to  live  forever, 
as  John  explains,  but  to  "tarry  till  I  come."  This  is  not  the 
place  to  discuss  the  question  whether  John  lived  to  see  any 
"coming  of  the  Lord"  wdiicli  Peter's  earlier  death  prevented. 
Certainly  it  must  have  meant  something  by  a  distinction  which 
must  inevitably  be  misunderstood  unless  by  it  he  intended  a 
promise.  It  is  next  to  impossible  that  he  chose  a  method  so 
cumbrous  and  so  liable,  so  certain,  to  be  misunderstood,  if  all 
he  meant  was  that  Peter  was  to  attend  to  his  own  business. 
The  disciples  understod  it  as  a  promise  to  John,  and  a  warn- 
ing to  Peter,  and  Peter  lived  in  anticipation  of  glorifying  God 
by  his  death.  There  in  the  sunrise  of  that  May  morning  by 
the  lake,  Peter  discovered  in  the  face  of  the  risen  Christ  the 


442  JESUS     OF     NAZARKTH 

true  ^e:lory  of  a  life  of  service.  John  lived  to  serve  him  lonjc^ 
after  Peter  was  dead;  but  Peter  followed  Christ,  as  of  old  he 
had  promised,  "to  prison  and  to  death." 

A  few  days  later  our  Lord  met  his  disciples  in  Jerusalem. 
What  he  said  is  not  recorded;  but  his  messa^-e  can  hardly  have 
been  other  than  the  last  words  cn'iven  them  in  Galilee,  "Go 
ve  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing-  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Fatlier,  and  of  the  Son.  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  teaching 
them  to  observe  all  thin2:s  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  vou; 
and  lo.  I  am  with  yon  ahvay.  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world" 
(Matt.  28:  ig.  20).  That  promise  he  has  fulfilled  in  his  abiding 
presence  in  the  life  of  men — and  he  abides  the  greatest  living 
power  for  good  in  human  life. 

Having  riven  his  last  message  to  his  disciples,  our  Lord  led 
them  out  again  away  from  Jerusalem,  past  Calvary,  past  Geth- 
semane.  and  up  on  the  top  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  until  Beth- 
anv  lav  below  them  and  Jerusalem  was  in  the  distance.  Then 
he  lifted  his  hands  and  blessed  them,  and  while  he  blessed 
them,  he  was  carried  into  heaven. 

I  saw  a  beautiful  sight  one  day  as  I  journeyed  from  Jeru- 
salem to  the  Jordan.  It  was  raining  in  Jerusalem  and  west- 
ward over  the  sea.  but  the  sun  was  shining  in  the  wilderness 
and  far  bevond  Jordan.  As  we  passed  Betliany  the  rain  grew 
lighter,  and  after  a  mile  or  two  we  traveled  over  dry  roads, 
the  sun  shining  clear  before  us.  while  the  dense  clouds  black- 
ened the  west. 

Soon  the  rainbow  became  visible — there  is  always  a  rainbow 
at  the  edge  of  the  storm — and  grew  brighter  as  we  came  more 
into  the  sunshine.  Our  road  wound  down  the  mountain,  mak- 
ing curve  below'  curve,  each  time  taking  us  into  the  shadow, 
each  time  bringing  us  into  l)righter  sunshine,  and  the 
bow  above  brightened  and  doubled  and  trebled.  There 
it  was.  a  clear,  triple  rainbow,  and  it  hung  above  the  Mount 
of  Olives,  encircling  the  spot  where  Jesus  last  stood  before 
he  ascended  to  the  Father,  the  more  really  to  be  with  us 
ahvays.  A  score  of  others  saw  it,  my  companions  in  the 
journev,  and  to  each  one  it  was  the  symbol  of  glorious  hope. 


THE  FORTY  DAYS  AND  THE  FUTURE 


443 


Not  Olivet  only,  where  last  his  feet  pressed  the  soil  of  earth, 
but  the  whole  world  is  under  that  tri])le  arch  of  faith,  hope 
and  love.  Above  the  world,  forever  j^lorified  by  the  human 
footsteps  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  rises  in  triple  splendor  that 
arch  whose  keystone  is  in  heaven,  and  whose  pillars  are  the 
sure  promises  of  God. 


HE  IS   risen!— (exder,    1793-1854) 


-..  ''   '        '    •           ,«         -air'-                            ,„              , . 

iff 

f  w 

%         ■ 

Copyright  1903  by  Frank  Wood 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


PART   II 

THE    CHRIST    OF    ART 


JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  AS  ART  REVEALS  HIM 


I— ART   AND    LITERATURE 

In  some  of  their  aspects  the  treatment  of  reH^^ious  themes 
in  art  and  in  literature  is  fairly  parallel;  and  so  far  forth  the 
paintings  of  any  period  in  church  history  have  their  best  inter- 
pretation in  the  literature  of  the  time.  But  there  have  been 
ages  in  which  the  brush  was  active  and  the  pen  was  idle,  save 
as  it  made  a  few  copies  of  old  parchments;  the  houses  of  the 
people  were  bare  of  books,  but  the  walls  of  the  churches  were 
hung  high  with  paintings,  and  decorated  with  religious  fres- 
coes. On  the  other  hand,  the  Puritan  movement  affords  an 
illustration  of  an  epoch  rich  in  literature,  but  until  the  present 
almost  barren  of  art. 

Literature  is  more  diversified  than  painting.  It  embraces 
philosophy  and  poetry,  science  and  speculation,  archaeology 
and  metaphysics.  \Miatever  of  conviction  or  emotion,  of 
logical  certainty  or  of  vague  wonder,  can  be  expressed  in  words 
can  also  be  reduced  to  writing,  and  thus  become  literature. 
Art,  however,  is  compassed  about  by  limitations.  It  can 
express  only  so  much  as  it  can  embody  in  some  rigid  form, 
paint  on  a  flat  surface,  or  carve  out  of  stone.  It  has  neither 
speech  nor  motion.  As  compared  with  literature  it  is  in  fetters. 
As  between  art  and  literature,  literature  is  incomparably  the 
greater.  The  Bible  is  literature,  and,  excepting  the  poetry  of 
the  Psalms  and  the  prophets,  is  literature  whose  charm  and 
convincing  power  are  chiefly  in  the  artlessness  and  simplicity 
of  the  narrative.  There  were  ages  in  which  the  Bible  of  the 
people  was  largely  the  pictures  on  the  walls  of  the  churches; 

I 


446 


JESL'b     OF     XAZARI-Tll 


and  those  ages  illustrate  the  sad  liniitalions  of  art.  The  record 
of  the  life  on  earth  of  the  Son  of  (iod  i.-,  i)rescr\  cd  for  us  in  a 
book,  and  a  book  without  conteniporarv  illustrations. 

Art  has  some  advantages  over  literature,  as  well  as  limita- 
tions. Some  of  the  limitations  are  themselves  ad\antao-cs. 
Art  may  l)e  reverently  wise  above  what  is  written.     It  repro- 


THE    ANXUXCIATION^(ml-UILU).     1617-1682) 


duces  the  carpenter  shop  of  Joseph,  and  creates  a  form  which 
takes  its  place  in  the  imagination  of  the  Church  as  his;  it  enters 
the  chamber  of  the  A^irgin,  and  stands  alone  with  her  and  the 
angel  at  the  annunciation;  it  halts  not  because  the  creeds  of 
the  Church  have  no  consistent  doctrine  of  angels,  but  paints 
a  sky  full  of  them,  singing  above  the  manger  of  Bethlehem;  it 
gathers  out   of  oblivion   the   unrecorded   details   of  the   flight 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIM 


447 


into  Egypt;  it  fasts  with  Christ  in  the  wilderness;  it  watches 
with  him  in  the  garden  while  the  disciples  sleep;  it  enters  the 
tomb  with  him;  it  is  with  him  in  the  resurrection;  it  parts  the 
verv  clouds  for  him  to  ascend  into  heaven. 

All  this  art  does  reverently,  beautifully,  helpfully;  much  of 
this  literature  can  do  clumsily,  if  at  all.     Literature  ever  insists 


i» 

19 

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V 
\ 

MADONNA    AND    CHILD (mURILI.O.     1617-1682) 


on  thrusting  its  pen.  if  not  its  finger,  into  the  historic  nail 
prints;  but  Art  says,  "Come,  see  the  place  w^here  the  Lord  lay." 
and  we  forget  to  begin  our  awe-struck  and  reverent  inspection 
with  a  "Credo."  Therein  is  art  the  freer,  and  so  far  forth  the 
truer,  interpreter  of  popular  thought. 

Art  has  another  advantage,   and  this  in  its  limitation.      It 
can  never  make  its  hero  an  abstraction.     Literature  is  able  to 


448  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

dwell  upon  a  given  attribute  till  its  character  ceases  to  be  a 
living  man,  and  becomes  a  cjuality.  But  art  cannot  do  so,  and 
if  it  could  it  dare  not.  If  it  paints  Christ  at  all.  it  must  make 
him  more  than  an  elusive  dogma.  It  must  put  him  into  the 
picture,  bodily  and  visibly;    it  cannot  conceal  him,  but  must 


THE    FLIGHT    INTO    EGYPT 
(MURILLO.    1617-1682) 


reveal  him,  face  and  figure.  It  dare  not  put  him  into  the  back- 
ground, nor  hide  him  in  the  shadows  of  theological  specula- 
tion. It  may  not  be  able  to  tell  the  wdiole  story  about  him, 
but  it  must  try;  it  can  never  paint  a  radiant  glow  betw^een  the 
overshadowing  cherubim,  and  say,  "This  is  the  Christ."  The 
Christ  of  art  is  the  Word  made  flesh;  and  the  flesh  must  be 


AS     ART     RF.VEALS     HIM 


449 


real  and  human,  whatever  the  mystery  of  the  soul  within.  If 
art  uses  symbols,  it  must  be  as  symbols,  and  not  as  syllogisms. 
The  influence  of  Christ  upon  art  has  been  profound.  It  has 
touched  all  the  arts,  and  given  new  life  to  some  of  them. 
Architecture,  perfected  in  the  heathen  temples  of  antiquity, 
but  decadent  in  the  nations  of  Mediaeval  Europe,  revived  and 
found  fresh  life  in  the  cathedrals  and  churches  of  Christendom. 
The  almost  simultaneous  appearance  of  the  Gothic  in  all  the 


^■j 

^^1 

"'^"^ft,^        J^iB^^^H 

^^^r :?  <^^| 

H 

r 

If^ 

^/_> 

PI^^H 

^^Iw^^^^l 

wt 

1 

^^^^H^-j> 

^^■H 

resting  on  the  way  to  egypt 
(mtjrillo.  1617-1682) 

Christianized  nations  of  Europe  gave  to  architecture  a  new 
birth,  and  dedicated  the  art  which  had  ever  been  a  religious 
one,  to  the  service  of  the  Church.  Sculpture,  too,  has  received 
its  impulse  from  Christianity.  If  Protestantism  feels  the  influ- 
ence of  sculpture  but  little  in  the  religious  life  of  the  people, 
it  is  still  a  power  in  the  Ronipn  Catholic  world,  where  shrines 
abound  along  the  wayside  and  statues  inhabit  the  recesses  of 
cathedrals.  Music  and  poetry  belong  pre-eminentlv  to  the 
Church.     Hers  are  the  psalm  and  the  hymn,  the  anthem  and 

5 


45^^ 


JESUS     OF     XAZARiyi  il 


the  oratorio;  hers  are  the  origan  ami  the  choir  and  the  sweUino- 
volume  of  praise  from  the  i^reat  conorej^ation.  All  these  arts, 
architecture,  sculpture,  nui^ic,  and  poetry,  have  received 
strong  impulse  from  the  Church. 

In  painting",   howexer.   we  tind  pre-eminently    the    material 
for  a  revelation  (jf  p()])ular  thought   of  the  ])erson  of  Christ. 


the   holy   family 
(mukillo.  1617-1682) 

Here  are  form  and  color,  repose  and  action,  historical  or 
,c;"eo^-raphical  background,  and  surroundings  of  contemporary 
life. 

Painting  has  been  profoundly  influenced  b\-  Christianit}-;  and. 
as  in  all  the  arts,  the  influence  has  been  mutual,  for  art  has 
effected    a    reciprocal     influence     upon     popular     Christianity. 

6 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIM 


451 


Painting  gives  us  a  revelation  of  the  popular  thought  of  the 
Christ;  it  also  gives  to  popular  thought  a  formative  tendency, 
and  shapes  the  current  feeling  which  the  painter,  usually  sensi- 
tive to  the  influences  of  his  environment,  and  often  prophetic, 
reduces  to  canvas  in  a  glorified  form.  Tie  does  more  than  add 
to  the  face  or  figure  of  the  blaster  a  background  of  contem- 


JOSEPH    AND    THE    INFANT    TESUS 
(  MURILLO,    I&I7-1682) 

porary  or  ancient  life;  he  interprets  more  or  less  accurately 
the  Christ  who  lives  in  the  imagination  and  the  spiritual  con- 
sciousness of  his  contemporaries.  A  popular  painting  is  there- 
fore both  an  interpretation  and  a  record. 

The  present  generation  has  witnessed,  to  a  surprising 
degree,  the  popularization  of  art.  Art.  which  was  once  for  the 
few,  has  become  the   possession   of  the  many.      The   average 

7 


45- 


JESL'S     OF     XAZAKKTH 


home  of  to-day  has  not  merely  more  pictures  than  the  home  of 
forty  years  ati^o.  l)ut   pictures  of  vastly  better  quality. 

The  new  moxement  bes^an  with  the  now  (les])ise(l  chromo. 
Paintiiii^s  that  appealed  to  popular  fancy  were  reproduced  by 
Hthography,  and  sold  from  door  to  door,  or  i^iven  a^  premiums 


•;»<«■ 
k 

|H| 

^ 

-'    'y^-^JflM^^^^ufl 

^M 

1 

t 

|H 

1 

^m 

H 

»«(* 

H 

1 

1 

1 

^^^p^RmI 

,.  *>'?s:^ 

BV^^I 

JOSEPH     AND    THE    CHILD     7ESTJS 
(MURILLO,     l6l  7-1682) 

for  subscriptions  to  newspapers.  We  can  hardly  be  o-rateful 
enough  to  those  periodicals  which  employed  this  method  of 
increasing  their  circulation  and  of  brightening  the  hoiues  of 
their  constituency.  Rut  a  greater  thing  than  the  chromo  was 
to  come,  in  the    invention  of    the    half-tone  cut.     Bv  it  any 

8 


AS    ART     REVEALS     HIM 


453 


painting,  photographed  through  a  screen  upon  a  sensitized 
copper  plate,  can  be  reproduced  in  black  and  white  and  in  anv 
desired  size,  by  the  printing-press. 

And  now  comes  three-color  printing;  by  means  of  which  a 
painting  may  be  thrice  photographed  through  screens  that  in 
succession  permit  the  passage  only  of  red,  yellow,  and  blue 
rays,  and  then  reproduced  by  the  printing-press  on  paper 
printed  successively  from  plates  made  by  these  exposures  in 


the  divine  shepherd 
(murillo.  i6i 7-1682) 


the  original  three  colors  in  all  their  combinations.  We  are 
yet  to  see  wonderful  results  from  this  discovery.  But  for  our 
present  purpose  we  stop  with  the  half-tone  cut. 

This  new^  art  has  done  more  to  popularize  art  than  any  dis- 
covery since  the  invention  of  printing.  Famous  pictures  repro- 
duced in  excellent  style,  are  sold  for  a  cent,  and  are  by  no 
means  to  be  despised.  They  are  giving  our  children  an  edu- 
cation in  art  which  their  parents  never  could  have  obtained. 

9 


454 


jF.sus   OF   nazari-:th 


They  are  fillinq"  the  hunihlost  homes  with  pictures,  often  g^iven 
away  in  Sunday-school,  which  would  have  made  the  old  mas- 
ters exclaim  with  delight. 

This  popularization  of  art  has  made  the  face  of  Jesus,  in  all 
a.q"es  from  infancy  to  the  ascension,  so  familiar  to  the  whole 
world,  that  it  may  he  counted  a  new  revelation  of  the  Christ. 


THE    HOLY    CHILD 
(MURILLO,    1617-1682I 


The  artists  ha\e  been  toiling-  thrcnij^h  the  centuries,  laboring' 
each  for  the  few  who  could  come  and  look  upon  the  sin,£^le 
picture;  now  in  a  sine^le  day  the  picture  appears  upon  the  walls 
of  a  million  homes,  and  the  old  master  and  the  painter  of  the 
dav  han.sx  their  faces  of  the  Christ  side  1)y  side  in  homes  all 
over  the  world. 


AS     ART    RF.VEALS     Tim 


455 


What  kind  of  Christ  do  the  artists  reveal?  Is  there  anv 
authorized  conception  of  Christ  upon  which  they  base  their 
work?  Is  there  any  generally  accepted  ideal  to  which  these 
pictures  appeal?  What  is  the  Christ  who  has  emerj^ed  from 
the  studio,  and  now  ajipears  anew  amono"  men? 

The  conception  of  Jesus  w'hich  is  current  in  anv  .^iven  ag-e 
may  be  judged,  not  simply  by  its  owai  new  productions,  but 


THE   CHRIST    OF    MURII.LO    (1617-1682) 


also  by  those  which  it  has  inherited  from  the  past  and  which 
it  still  loves.  The  Christ  of  popular  thought  is  a  composite 
photograph  of  all  these.  If  we  know  what  pictures  of  Jesus 
are  trulv  loved,  we  shall  know  how  people  think  of  Jesus. 
The  question  is  not  mainly  that  of  the  artist's  personal  theol- 
ogv  or  ideal,  but  of  the  sentiment  to  which  his  picture  appeals. 


456  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

We  have,  besides  modern  works  of  art.  the  inherited  and 
successive  attempts  of  Christian  artists,  each  of  which  has 
vahie  as  a  theological  interpretation  of  its  own  time,  and 
somewhat  also  of  value  as  indicating  the  taste  and  ideals  of 
subsequent  ages  that  have  preserved  and  admired  them.  It 
is  not  the  purpose  of  this  essay  to  inquire  what  various  views 
of  the  nature  and  character  of  Jesus  are  suggested  by  the 
paintings  of  different  ages.  Our  concern  is  with  the  net  result. 
What  of  the  paintings  that  survive,  and  that  are  loved,  not 
as  works  of  art  alone,  but  as  faithful  records  of  what  people 
believe  and  feel  about  Jesus?  \Miat  kind  of  being  is  it  whom 
the  people  of  to-day  believe  in,  as  judged  by  the  paintings  that 
we  love?  Several  different  answers  might  be  given,  not  only 
as  judged  by  different  sorts  of  popularity,  but  also  as  judged 
by  the  groups  of  paintings  of  the  childhood,  the  youth,  and 
the  manhood  of  Jesus.  Our  field  of  inquirv'^  is  not  so  much 
among  those  paintings  that  are  counted  technically  great,  as 
among  those  that  are  truly,  and  in  the  best  sense,  popular. 
Painting,  then,  affords  us  our  field  for  inquiry  as  to  the  face 
and  figure  that  has  emerged  from  the  thought  of  the  artists, 
and  taken  its  place,  not  merely  on  canvas,  but  in  popular 
thought,  as  the  person  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

II— EARLY  CHRISTIAN  ART 

The  question  of  the  personal  appearance  of  Jesus  was  dis- 
cussed at  times  in  the  early  church,  but  not  with  an  attempt 
accurately  to  describe  his  looks  or  bearing.  The  question 
rather  was  whether  his  general  appearance  was  prepossessing 
or  the  reverse.  The  arguments  did  not  pretend  to  be  based 
upon  personal  sight  or  knowledge,  but  rather  on  the  interpre- 
tation of  prophetic  passages,  as  that  which  speaks  of  one  who 
is  "chief  among  ten  thousand,  and  altogether  lovely." 

It  is  notable  that  the  view  founded  on  this  and  like  passages 
differs  diametrically  from  what  is  said  to  have  been  at  one  time 
the  dominant  conception  of  the  Christ.  Not  only  did  the 
heathen  Celsus  argue  a  probable  deformity  as  a  reason  for 
the   Tews'  rejection  of  Christ  as  their  Messiah,  but  many  of 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


457 


the   Fathers,   assuming  that   the  prophet's  words  referred   to 
Christ's  personal   appearance,   "He   hath   no  form   nor   come- 


CHRIST  BRINGING   THE   FRUIT  OF  THE  TREE  OF   LIFE 

Glass   ornament   suspended   from   the   neck   of  a   Christian 
woman,  aged  22,  and  called  by  her  husband  in  a  cata- 
comb inscription,  "Sweetest  of  Wives" — Very  earlj' 

liness,  and  when  we  shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we 
should  desire  him,"  describe  his  appearance  as  base.  Clement 
of  Alexandria,  Justin  Martyr,  Origen,  and  Tertullian  all  agree 


CHRIST    AS    ORPHEUS 
(from    THE    CATACOIMBS) 


in  this,  and  there  was  a  tradition  based  on  the  Vulgate  of  Isaiah 
53:4,  that  he  was  a  leper. 


13 


458 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


It  is  worth  while  to  notice,  and  i^ratefully.  that  no  one  of 
the  Fathers  who  held  this  unhappy  view  of  the  person  of 
Christ  seems  to  have  connnitted  that  conce])tion  to  canvas. 
Indeed,  there  was  a  strong-  prejudice  ae^ainst  any  attempt  to 


THE    COOD    SHr.l'HERII 

surrounded  by  christian  emblems 
(from   the  catacombs) 


THE    nativity 

from   a   sarcophagus.  343   a.   d. 


depict  his  person.     In  what  was  probably  the  earliest  art  his 
personality  is  suggested  in  symbol,  analogy,  or  type. 

The   first   representatives   of  Christ    were   not   designed    to 
gratify  the  love  of  art,  but  were  attempts  at  religious  instruc- 

fl 


THE  GOOD   shepherd,    WITH   JONAH    AS   A   PROTOTYPE,   AND  AGAPE   P.ELOW 

tion  and  consolation.  They  were  in  large  measure  crude,  mor- 
tuary emblems,  buried  with  the  dead  or  rudely  inscribed  above 
them.  First  there  were  symbols  of  the  resurrection,  or  of  faith 
in  Christ.     Sometimes  the  emblems  had  a  mvstic  significance, 


14 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIM 


459 


as  the  sign  of  the  fish,  of  vvhicli  niiich  has  been  conjectured, 
and  which  was  an  early  symbol  of  Christian  faith.  It  is  said, 
though  perhaps  not  on  good  authority,  that  a  political  party 


THE    RAISING    OF    LAZARUS 

Wrought  in  gold  figures  on  the  bottom  of 
a  glass  cup  in  the  Catacombs — Very  early 

in  America  created  its  name  from  the  initials  of  a  motto — "We 
Hope  In  God" — Whig.  The  ancients  were  far  more  attentive 
than  we  to  acrostics;  and  it  is  said  that  the  sign  of  the  fish 


THE    CHRISMA 
MONOGRAM 


THE    LABARIUM 
OF  CONSTANTINE 


THE    EGYPTIAN 
CRUX    ANSATA 


PRIMITIVE  FORMS  OF  THE  CROSS. 

was  derived  from  the  Greek  word  for  fish,  Ichthus,  whose  five 
letters  in  the  Greek  form  the  initials  of  the  words  "Jesus 
Christ,  God's  Son,  Saviour."  At  all  events,  the  fish  was  widely 
used  in  the  early  Church. 

15 


460 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


The  emblematic  representations  of  Christ  were  not  the  only 
ones,  however.  He  was  often  represented  in  type,  as  by  the 
prophet  Jonah;  and,  when  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  p^rew  in  em- 
phasis, he  was  represented  under  tlie  type  of  the  offering  of 
Isaac  by  his  father  Al^raham. 

From  these  Old  Testament  representations  it  was  an  easy 
step  to  the  New,  where  the  miracles  furnished  a  fruitful  field 
for  the  crude  art  of  the  early  church.  But  even  in  the  illustra- 
tions of  Christ's  miracles  the  ])crson  of  Jesus  is  drawn  without 
much  individuality.      It  is  simply  a  conventional  figure,   who 


iCENTlSPOQVEM 


ILECITDOM'SPAVSAT^ 

1 N  Po-f /^  (tM-))  "^W?.  AG  E 


EMBRES 


/J^  -^^  ^- 


THE    BAPTISM    OF   CHRIST   WITH    WATER    FROM    HEWEX 
(  EARLY    fresco) 

evokes  from  the  tomb  the  swathed  and  mummied  Lazarus;  it  is 
the  miracle  that  is  recalled,  rather  than  the  personality  of  Jesus. 
There  is  one  notable  fact,  however,  about  these  first 
attempts  to  portray  the  Christ  as  a  man,  which  is  that  they 
uniformly  represent  him  as  a  young  man — the  ideal  of  youth. 
Eminent  authorities  declare  that  it  was  centuries  before  he  was 
represented  with  a  beard.  The  face  is  fair  and  serene. 
Jesus  is  the  personification  of  buoyant,  hopeful,  young  life. 
As  a  young  man  he  appears  in  scenes  like  the  raising  of  Laz- 
arus. The  entire  absence  of  attempt  to  produce  a  likeness 
shows  that  the  artists  associate  the  conception  of  Christ  with 

16 


AS    ART     REVEALS 


461 


the  ideal  of  youth,  and  so  pictures  do  not  pretend  to  be  por- 
traits— the  Christ  in  them  is  in  the  personification  of  joyous 
strength,  with  perhaps  a  suggestion  of  immortal  youth. 

Among  all  the  typical  representations  of  Christ,  none  was  so 
popular  or  so  frequently  used  as  that  of  the  Good  Shepherd. 
There  is  still  no  attempt  at  portraiture — it  is  the  same  figure 
of  youth  that  confronts  us;  but  it  is  a  youth  who  is  tall,  alert 
and  strong,  bearing  on  his  shoulders  a  lamb.  If  Archdeacon 
Farrar  and  Dean  Stanley  are  right,  the  conception  of  Christ 
as  the  Good  Shepherd  was  the  dominant  one  in  the  early 
Church.     It  was  the  favorite  figure  in  the  catacombs,  and  as 


the  nativity 
(from  a  sarcophagus  of  the  fourth  century) 


common  as  later  pictures  of  the  passion  became.  Farrar 
affirms  that  for  four  hundred  years  we  have  no  single  represen- 
tation of  the  Christ  as  a  worn  and  weary  sufferer;  but  there 
are  many  which  represent  him  as  leading  his  flock  as  in  John 
10,  or  as  bringing  home  the  lost  sheep,  as  in  Luke  15.  So 
large  was  the  thought  of  the  divine  compassion,  as  expressed 
in  these  pictures,  that  sometimes  the  rescued  animal  is  not  a 
sheep  but  a  kid,  tenderly  carried  while  the  sheep  walk  beside 
the  shepherd. 

The  foregoing  stages  of  art  are  assumed  by  some  authors 
to  have  been  successive,  and  to  have  occupied  several  centuries 
before  the  production  of  actual  attempts  at  verisimilitude;  but 

17 


462  JESUS    OF     NAZARETH 

other  authorities  deny  that  we  can  thus  classify  the  art  of  the 
church  chronologically,  and  affirm  that  several  of  these  forms 
were  contemporary,  and  that  the  earliest  portraits  are  of  great 
antiquity. 

WMien  the  attempts  at  actual  portraiture  became  common, 
there  came  with  them  also  a  development  of  the  use  of  sym- 
bols. The  lamb  now  ceases  to  be  the  symbol  of  the  rescued 
sinner,  and  becomes  the  type  of  the  crucified  Saviour.  The 
joyousness  of  the  early  religion  faded  out,  and  the  sadder  ele- 
ments became  prominent  with  the  growth  of  monasticism.  In 
691  the  Council  of  Constantinople,  directly  opposing  the  canon 
of  the  Council  of  Elvira  which  had  forbidden  the  use  of  pic- 
tures in  churches,  decreed  "that  henceforth  Christ  is  to  be 
publicly  exhibited  in  the  figure  of  a  man,  not  a  lamb,  that  we 
may  be  led  to  remember  Christ's  conversation  in  the  flesh,  and 
his  passion  and  saving  death,  and  the  redemption  which  he 
wrought  for  the  world." 

Thenceforth  pictures  of  the  Christ  became  numerous,  and, 
in  accordance  with  the  suggestion  of  the  canon,  and  the  grow- 
ing spirit  of  the  Church  that  substituted  the  Dies  Irae  for 
Clement's  sweet  hymn,  "Shepherd  of  tender  youth,"  the  suf- 
ferings of  Christ  became  a  favorite  theme.  With  this,  and  the 
various  scenes  of  the  passion,  came  visions  of  judgment;  and 
the  Christ  appeared  alternately  as  a  helpless  sufferer  in  the 
hands  of  sinners,  and  as  a  wrathful  judge  passing  condemna- 
tion upon  sinners. 

The  happier,  gentler  aspects  did  not  wholly  fail,  however, 
for  there  was  necessity  for  historic  variety  and  the  compassing- 
of  representative  scenes  in  his  whole  life.  There  was  fre- 
quently a  series  of  scenes,  including  three  or  four  of  the  fol- 
lowing, as  tabulated  by  Miss  Hurll  in  her  excellent  book  on 
"The  Tife  of  our  Lord  in  Art":  The  Adoration  of  the  Kings; 
The  Raising  of  Lazarus;  the  Multiplication  of  the  Loaves;  the 
Turning  of  Water  into  Wine;  the  Healing  of  the  Lame  Man; 
the  Healing  of  the  Blind  Man;  the  Woman  Kneeling  at 
Christ's  Feet,  the  Woman  of  Samaria,  the  Entry  Into  Jeru- 
salem, Christ  Before  Pilate.     To  these  were  sometimes  added: 

18 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIM  463 

The  Nativity;  the  Baptism;  Christ  W'ashin*^-  Peter's  Feet,  and 
The  Cross-bearing".  These  were  used  in  frescoes,  some  of  them 
in  the  catacombs,  in  mosaic  decorations  of  churches,  and  in 
bas-rehef  ornamentation  of  sarcophagi. 

We  have  noted  the  use  of  s\nil)ols  in  the  early  Church,  ante- 
dating the  general  use  of  attempts  at  actual  representations  of 
Christ.  Such  symbols  did  not  cease  when  it  became  common 
to  paint  the  face  and  form  of  Jesus,  but  some  of  the  old  svmbols 
disappeared,  and  another  came  into  sudden  and  growing  popu- 
larity. \Mien  Constantine  saw  his  vision  with  the  legend 
*'By  this  sign  you  shall  conquer,"  the  symbol  which  he  saw 
emblazoned  on  the  sky  was  not  the  fish,  but  the  cross.  It  was 
a  daring  choice  of  emblems,  even  for  a  monarch;  for  the  cross 
had  only  the  most  grewsome  and  terrible  associations,  such  as 
with  us  are  associated  with  the  gallows. 

With  the  vision  of  Constantine  the  Cross  became  the  emblem 
of  the  Church.  It  was  not,  however,  the  Latin  cross,  but  the 
Chrisma  symbol,  the  Greek  letters  X  P,  wrought  into  a  mono- 
gram, and  representing  the  letters  Chr,  the  initials  of  Christ. 
The  early  form  of  the  cross,  the  Labarium  of  Constantine,  the 
handled  cross  with  the  ring  of  the  P  at  the  top,  made  easier 
another  adaptation,  and  a  beautiful  one.  Christianity  grew 
strong  in  Egypt.  One  of  its  chief  centers  was  at  Alexandria. 
Christian  schools  and  churches  dotted  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
for  hundreds  of  miles.  Egypt  had  its  cross.  It  was  not 
the  cross  of  punishment  but  the  key  of  life.  For  millenniums 
the  Egyptians  had  inscribed  all  over  their  monuments  this 
cni.v  aiisafa,  the  cross  with  a  round  handle  at  the  top.  As  the 
key  of  life  it  appears  in  the  hands  of  the  innumerable  deities 
of  Egypt,  and  as  a  confession  of  faith  in  immortalitv  it  is 
inscribed  on  papyrus  and  sarcophagus.  In  Egypt  this  symbol 
was  adapted  to  the  uses  of  the  Church.  Sometimes  the  crux 
aiisa/a  was  borrowed  without  change ;  sometimes  it  appeared 
alternately  with  the  Christian  cross;  and,  when  it  became 
common  to  represent  the  Christ  upon  the  cross,  the  round 
loop  at  the  top  was  sometimes  filled  in  with  a  head  of  Christ, 
and  the  kev  of  life  became  the  crucifix.    The  use  of  this  symbol 

19 


464  JESUS     OF    NAZARETH 

was  not  wholly  coiithied  to  Egypt,  l)ut  found  its  way  to  Rome, 
and  appeared  sometimes  on  the  tombs  of  martyrs  with  the 
handle  of  the  key  transformed  to  a  wreath  of  immortality. 

Contri'.ry  to  popular  impression,  therefore,  the  cross  is  not 
the  most  ancient  of  Christian  sxmbols.  It  finds  no  place 
among  the  earliest  emblems  of  the  Church.  'Jdie  resiuTection, 
not  the  crucifixion,  was  the  great  doctrine  of  the  early  Church. 
Christ  living  was  the  truth  that  found  abundant  expression 
on  the  tombs  of  the  catacomlis.  W^e  are  not  sure  that  we  find 
any  examples  of  the  cross  as  stich  before  the  fourth  century: 
and  as  for  the  Christ  upon  the  cross,  nothing  could  more  have 
horrified  the  Chin-ch  of  tlie  early  centiunes  than  the  fearful 
representations  of  ])hysical  sufi^ering  whicii  became  so  hideously 
frequent  in  the  middle  ages.  After  the  time  of  Constantine 
the  cross  became  common,  and  after  a  time  the  face  or  bust 
of  Christ  was  occasionally  drawn  above  it.  When  first  Christ 
was  depicted  upon  the  cross,  perhaps  in  the  eighth  century. 
it  was  without  wounds  or  expressions  of  pain;  a  living  Christ, 
with  the  cross  behind  him,  looking  down  and  giving  life  and 
light  to  men.  Not  a  single  scene  of  our  Lord's  suffering,  not 
a  single  picture  of  a  haggard  or  tortured  Saviour  appears,  so 
far  as  known,  in  early  Christian  art.  In  586  we  have  the  first 
assured  pictiu"e  of  the  crucifixion  in  the  Syriac  Gospel  in  the 
Laurentian  Library  of  Florence.  1)ut  this  was  quite  exceptional. 
Not  till  loii  are  we  sure  that  we  have  an  example  of  the  dead 
Christ  upon  the  cross.  The  passion  as  a  theme  in  Christian 
art  dates  from  the  Council  of  Constantinople,  692.  and  from 
that  time  on  the  imagination  of  the  painters  was  tortured  to 
devise  new  horrors  for  their  sanguinary  canvases. 

We  cannot  contemplate  without  a  shudder  the  art  of  those 
ages  which  subjected  the  likeness  of  Christ  to  all  imaginable 
tortures.  That  men  were  moved  1)y  these  pictures  we  know 
from  such  incidents  as  that  of  Count  Zinzendorf.  the  change  in 
whose  life  dated  from  the  sight  of  a  picture  of  the  Crucifixion 
with  the  words  beneath.  "This  I  did  for  thee:  what  hast  thou 
done  for  me?"  But  it  is  a  mistake  to  su])pose  that  real  and 
deep    piety  can  be  produced    b\'  the  mere  contemplation    of 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIM  465 

physical  agony.  It  was  the  age  of  the  Iiuiuisition,  with  its 
thumb-screws  and  its  racks,  its  flaming  stakes  and  its  l)loody 
gibbets,  that  produced  its  acres  of  canvas  with  crucified  Christs 
dripping  blood,  and  dead  Christs  horribly  wounded.  It  is  a 
comfort  to  know  that  in  protesting  against  the  monotony  and 
the  sacrilege  and  the  brutality  of  these  representations,  we  are 
attacking  no  cherished  institution  of  the  ancient  Church,  but 
a  more  than  questionable  device  of  Mediaeval  art,  an  art  that 
was  gifted  but  lacking  in  compassion,  and  that  knew  Christ 
as  the  Virgin's  Child  or  the  sacrifice  for  sin,  but  had  not 
learned,  as  it  should  have  learned,  of  the  strength  and  sweet- 
ness of  his  abiding  life. 

Ill— HAVE  WE  A   LIKENESS  Or    CHRIST? 

Have  the  early  attempts  to  depict  the  face  of  Christ  any 
real  historic  value?  This  is  certainly  an  interesting,  even  if  an 
unimportant,  question.  The  answer  involves  some  historic 
research.  Where  did  the  earliest  Christian  artists  who 
attempted  to  make  the  face  of  Christ  real,  obtain  their  ideal? 

There  is  a  tradition  to  the  effect  that  Luke  painted  a  por- 
trait of  Jesus,  for  Abgarus,  king  of  Edessa.  Eusebius,  in  the 
fourth  century,  gives  the  tradition  that  the  Greeks  at  the  last 
passover  who  expressed  the  desire  to  see  Jesus,  were  an 
embassy  from  Abgarus,  inviting  Jesus  to  his  dominion.  Tra- 
dition grew  concerning  Abgarus.  He  was  sick,  and  Jesus 
could  not  go  to  heal  him,  but  sent  Luke,  who  healed  the  king- 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Abgarus  desired  to  know  how^  Jesus 
looked,  and  Luke  made  a  painting  of  the  face  of  Jesus. 

About  1895  a  picture  of  apparent  antiquity  was  exhibited  in 
Boston  as  possibly  that  which  Luke  had  painted.  One  or  two 
prominent  men  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  gave  its  appar- 
ent genuineness  the  sanction  of  their  names,  and  ecclesiastical 
testimony  was  not  lacking.  A  plausible  story  w^as  told,  too, 
of  the  way  in  which  the  picture  had  come  to  light.  In  a  more 
credulous  age  or  community  it  might  have  been  accepted  as 
genuine.  I  saw  the  painting  which  was  exhibited  by  intelli- 
gent and  apparently  honest   people,   and  while   wholly   disre- 


466 


JESUS    OF    NAZAR1-:  rii 


gardinij  the  story  about  it,  was  niiicli  impressed  bv  the  pic- 
ture itseh".  which  had  far  more  of  iiuh\i(kiahty  and  stren^s^th 
than  any  picture  I  have  seen  for  which  similar  claims  are  made. 
The  e}-es  were  lig"ht.  clear  blue,  and  the  hair  was  red.  The  face 
was  not  in  the  least  idealized,  and  it  hauntetl  the  memory 
afterward.     What  became  of  it  I  do  not  know. 

The  most   notable  of  the   portraits  alleged   to    have    been 


LIKENESS    OF    CHRIST     ATTRIIirTEli    T(l     ST.     I.UKE 
(FROM    THE   DRAWING   OF   THOMAS    HEAPHV) 

painted  bv  Luke  is  that  in  the  Bibliotheca  of  the  Vatican, 
where  it  is  framed  in  i^'old.  and  embellished  with  g-ems.  I  |^-i\'e 
a  picture  of  it  from  Heaph^'s  notable  reproduction  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum. 

Tradition  also  asserted  that  Luke  made  a  portrait  of  the 
Virgin;  and  this  tradition  grew  till  it  included  the  infant  Jesus. 
The  improbability  of  such  a  relation  extending  back  over 
thirty  years  from  the  time  of  the  .Xbgarus  incident,  and  half  a 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HLM 


467 


century  from  the  first  record  in  acts  of  Luke  liiniself,  never 
troubled  the  artists  of  the  middle  ages.  The  Boston  Museum 
of   Fine  Arts   has   an   excellent   painting  by   Rogier   van   der 


luke  painting  the  madonna 
(rogier  van  der  weyden,  1399-1464) 


Weyden  (1399-1464)  of  Luke,  making  his  portrait  of  the 
Madonna  and  child.  In  St.  Mark's,  in  Venice,  one  may  see. 
if  he  has  good  fortune,  a  picture  said  to  have  been  Luke's  por- 
trait of  Mary. 


2.1 


468 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


I  give  herewith  a  reproduction,  froir.  a  Hthographed  card 
which  I  bought  in  Saint  Mark's,  in  X'enice,  of  the  Madonna 
there  which   Luke  is  said  t(i  liave  painted     The  hack  of  the 


LUKES    ALLEGED    I'ORTRAIT    OF    THE    VIRGIN 


card  contains  a  prayer  to  the  \^irgin,  and  a  multitude  of 
miracles  is  alleged  to  have  been  wrought  by  means  of  this  holy 
l)()rtrait.  I  also  give  a  reproduction  of  the  authorized  likeness 
of  the  Bambino  in  the  Church  of  the  Friars  Minor  in  Ara 
Coeli  in  Rome.     This  is  not  a  painting,  but  an  image  in  olive- 

24 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


469 


wood,  said  to  have  been  wrought  Ijy  a  I^'ranciscaii  monk  in 
the  fifteenth  century  in  wood  from  the  Garden  of  (iethsemane. 
It  is  by  means  of  these  Hthographed  cards,  the  size  of  the 
reproduction,  that  the  hkeness  of  the  image  is  given  wide 
circulation.     This  image,  to  quote  from  the  card,  "is  known, 


^^^^^^P^""^^ 

1 

i^ 

■'i 

1 

^^^^B^ 

^^jf 

^fti!^.:'^ 

M 

1 

P^ 

■^^ 

*%w^ 

.J^W 

Hi 

THE    BAMBINO    IN    THE    CHURCH    IN 
ARA    COELI.    ROME 


visited,  and  honored  by  the  wh.ole  CathoHc  world,  owing  to 
the  innumerable  favors  which  the  Divine  Infant  bestows  on 
those  who  venerate  it."  This  card  also  bears  a  prayer  which 
carries  "one  hundred  days'  indulgence  once  a  day  applicable 
to  the  souls  in  Purgatory."  The  image  is  credited  with 
wonderful    cures  of    children,  and    is    surrounded    bv  votive 

2S 


4/0 


JESUS   OK   xa/:ari-:th 


offerings  from  grateful  parents.  The  image  itself  was  solemnly 
crowned  by  the  \'atican  Chapter  on  May  2,  1^97.  having 
already  received  ot^cial  recognition  of  Pope  Leo  XIII..  Jann- 
arv  iS.  1804.  It  is  covered  with  jewels,  whose  number  con- 
stant 1\-  increases.     The  little  lithographs,  sold  at   the  church. 


THE    NAPKIN    OF    SAINT    VERON'UA 
IN    THE    SACRISTY    OF    SAINT    PETEk's.    R;iME 
(from    THE   DRAWING   OF   THOMAS    llEAPHV) 


are  eagerly  purchased  by  thousands,  and  treasured  almost 
l)evond  price.  If  a  confessedly  modern  work  of  art  can  win 
such  a  high  i)1acc  in  the  affcctitm  of  the  peo])!e.  it  is  little 
wonder  that  those  should  be  popular  which  are  believed  to 
have  been  wrought  by  the  apostles. 

26 


AS    ART    REV^KALS     HIM 


4/1 


In  the  fifteenth  century  tlie  leL;en(l  of  N'eronica  l)ecanie  cur- 
rent. According-  to  this  tradition,  Jesus  was  passint^-  the  home  of 
this  nohle  woman  of  Jerusalem,  bearing-  his  cross,  his  face  chop- 
ping with  blood  from  the  crown  of  thorns.  She  wii)ed  his  face 
with  a  napkin,  and  received  it  back  with  his  features  miracu- 
lously printed  upon  it.     This  legend  grew  in  detail.     X'eronica 


THE   F.\MOUS    ONE-LINE    PORTR.MT   OF    CHRIST 
(CLAUDE    MELLAN.     1 598- 1 688) 

was  the  woman  who  had  touched  the  hem  of  Christ's  garment. 
She  became  so  constant  a  feature  in  representations  of  the 
crucifixion  that  she  sometimes  accompanied  and  again  ex- 
cluded the  Virgin  herself;  and  she  still  is  present  in  works 
down  to  Tissot,  and  her  house  is  confidently  shown  in  Jeru- 
salem. The  incident  is  celebrated  as  one  of  "the  stations  of  the 
cross"  by  Romanists  since  1477. 

27 


472  JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 

The  napkin  of  \"eronica  was  produced  almost  as  soon  as  the 
leg^end,  and  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  it  was  preserved  in 
tri])licatc.  It  may  still  be  seen,  once  a  year,  in  Rome — two 
places — and  also  in  (jcnoa  and  Constantinople.  The  most 
noted  of  these  napkins,  that  in  the  sacristy  in  Saint  Peter's. 
Rome,  is  probably  a  face-cloth,  laid  over  the  countenance  of 
a  corpse,  and  stained  by  its  decomposition.  Those  in  the 
church  of  Saint  Silvestro  in  Rome  and  that  of  Saint  Bartol- 
ommeo  in  Genoa  are  declared  by  Mrs.  Jameson  to  be  crude 
middle-age  forgeries. 


LIFE-SIZE   FRESCO   FROM    THE   CATACOMB   OF   ST.    CALISTO 
(SECOND    century) 

Probably   the   earliest    extant    representation   of    Christ 
with  beard  and  parted  hair. 

The  story  of  Veronica  has  had  a  strange  fascination  for 
artists.  One  of  the  most  unique  attempts  to  utilize  it  is  that 
of  Claude  Mellan  (1598-1G88).  who  drew  the  face  of  Christ, 
tear-stained  and  thorn-crowned,  in  a  single  line.  From  one 
of  his  original  prints  I  am  able  to  give  the  reproduction  in 
this  volume.  The  modern  artist,  Gal)riel  Alax.  has  utilized  the 
tradition  in  his  portrait  of  Christ,  in  a  face  of  fascinating 
sorrow  and  mystery,  whose  deep,  closed  eyes,  when  long  and 
intently  regarded,  seem  to  open  in  a  look  of  calm  bu.t  unuttep 
able  grief. 

28 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


473 


Many  good  people  are  wholly  vmwilHng-  to  believe  that  these 
portraits  which  bear  the  names  of  Luke  and  Veronica  are 
forgeries.     Some  of  them  contend  that  even  if  the  paintings 


THE  NAPKIN   OF   VERONICA — (GABRIEL    MAX,    1846 — ) 


were  not  made  as  described  in  the  legends,  they  were  made 
in  good  faith,  at  a  very  early  date  and  are  to  be  regarded  as 
embodying  an  ancient,  and  probably  reliable,  tradition  of  the 
appearance  of  Jesus. 

29 


474 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


Among  those  who  defended  this  view  was  Mr.  Thomas 
Heaphy,  an  Enghsh  artist  and  an  enthusiastic  behever  in  the 
antiquity  of  the  Ukeness  of  Christ.  He  made  repeated  journeys 
to  Rome,  and  obtained  drawings  from  the  catacombs  and 
churches  to  prove  his  conviction.  His  drawings  are  now  in 
the  British  Museum,  and  were  reproduced  in  a  volume  issued 
after  his  death,  entitled  "The  Likeness  of  Christ,"  a  book  of 


BYZANTINE  LIKENESS  OF  CHRIST.   ENGRAVED  ON  GOLD 
(SIZE  OF  illustration) 

To  be  worn  under  clothing. 
Probably  the  earliest  extant  specimen. 


which  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  copies  were  printed,  and 
these  were  soon  exhausted.  The  Society  for  Promoting 
Biblical  Knowledge  then  issued  a  cheaper  reprint,  disclaiming 
responsibility,  however,  for  Mr.  Heaphy's  dates.  This  edition, 
too,  is  out  of  print.  Whatever  the  reliability  of  Mr.  Heaphy's 
conclusions — and  they  are  those  of  the  artist  rather  than  the 
logician — his  drawings  have  great  value,  and  I  have  reproduced 
several  of  them  in  this  volume.     While  this  work  was  in  prep- 

.30 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIiM 


475 


aration,  and  this  portion  of  it  nearly  complete,  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  obtain  a  copy  of  the  sumptuous  first  edition,  with 
plates  colored  by  hand,  by  Sir  Wyke  Bayliss,  his  collaborator 
and  editor. 

Continuing-  alone  the  work  begun  by  Mr.  Heaphy,  Sir  Wyke 
Bayliss  published  the  results  of  his  own  researches  in  a  volume 


MOSAIC  FROM   THE  BAPTISTRY  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

FOURTH    CENTURY 

(FROM    HEAPHY's    "iIKENESS   OF   CHRISt") 


entitled  "Rex  Regum,"  recently  entered  upon  a  second  edition. 
He  is  president  of  the  Royal  Society  of  British  Artists,  and  this 
work,  in  its  first  edition,  was  dedicated  "by  command"  to 
Queen  Victoria  shortly  before  her  death.  The  book  devotes 
itself  to  proving  that  there  has  come  down  from  the  earliest 

31 


476 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


Christian  centuries  a  consistent  type,  everywhere  received  as 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  contends  that  "The  Hkeness  of 
Christ  with  which  the  contemporaries  of  the  Apostles  adorned 
the  catacombs  was  the  same  that  survived  through  the  second 
and  third  centuries,  and  was  in  the  fourth  transferred  to  the 
mosaics  of  the  basilicas."  Of  the  fresco  in  the  catacomb  of  Saint 
Callisto,  he  savs,  "I  believe    it   to  have    been  the  work  of  a 


miniature  mosaic  from  the  catacombs, 

now  in  the  museum  of  the  vatican    (very  earlv) 

(from  heaphy's  "likeness  of  Christ") 


Roman  artist,  a  portrait  painter,  who  had  himself  seen  Christ, 
and  the  profile  from  the  catacomb  of  Saints  Achilli  e  Nereo 
cannot  be  anything  else  than  a  portrait.  It  was  done  by  a 
Roman,  for  Romans  who  expected  a  portrait  to  be  a  likeness." 
Heaphy  records  the  tradition  which  he  learned  in  Rome, 
that  this  was  the  work  of  a  heathen  artist,  employed  by  the 
Christians,  who,  however,  recorded  their  opinion  that  it  looked 
too  much  like  a  heathen  philosopher. 

.12 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


477 


Mrs.  Jameson  long  ago  said  of  these  catacomlj  frescoes  and 
mosaics,  "Lit+le  can  be  gathered  from  heads  uncertain  in 
intention,  vagu_  in  date,  opposite  in  character,  and,  above  all, 
in  the  ruined  state  to  which  time  and  injury  have  reduced 
them." 


THE    MADONNA   OF   THE  CHAIR 
(RAPHAEL,    1483-1520) 

A  book  such  as  this  undertakes  to  be  is  no  place  for  the 
discussion  of  questions  such  as  the  date  of  disputed  frescoes 
and  mosaics,  and  I  am  entirely  willing  to  leave  them  to  those 
whose  special  knowledge  fits  them  for  the  undertaking;  but  I 
have  felt  in  reading  recently  the  writings  of  these  two  artists 
that,  while  the  argument  falls  far  short  of  their  assumed  demon- 

.13 


478 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


stration,  there  is  more  to  be  said  upon  their  side  than  I  had 
supposed;  and  I  see  no  reason  why  the  hkeness  of  Jesus  may 
not  have  a  "greater  antiquity  than  the  more  conservative 
scholars  have  been  accustomed  to  ruhnit. 


THE   QUEEN    OF    HEAVEX — (PAPPERITZ) 

Beside  the  alleged  portraits,  whatever  their  date  may  be, 
there  are  certain  oral  descriptions  of  the  person  of  Jesus  which 
are  often  referred  to.  Tn  the  middle  ages  two  accounts  became 
current,  which,  while  of  little  historic  value,  are  of  great  worth 
as  a  record  of  the  concept  of  Christ  in  popular  consciousness. 
That   these  two  descriptions    had    much  in   common    is  less 

.14 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


479 


remarkal)le  when  we  remember  that  the  Church  had  never 
conceded  the  right  of  the  artist  to  invent  his  conception  of 
the  Christ.     In  787  the  second  Nicene  Council  declared  that 


IMMACULATE   CONCEPTION — (mURILLO,     1617-1682) 

"It  is  not  the  invention  of  the  painter  that  creates  the  picture, 
but  an  inviolable  law,  a  tradition  of  the  Catholic  Church.  It 
is  not  the  painters,  but  the  holy  fathers  who  have  to  invent  and 
to  dictate.  To  them  manifestly  belongs  the  composition;  to 
the  painter  only  the  execution." 

35 


48o 


JESUS     OF    NAZARETH 


It  is  interesting  and  profitable  to  record  the  two  pen  pictures 
of  Jesus  to  which  painters,  thus  admonished,  conformed  their 
representations  of  Jesus.  In  the  fifteenth  century  the  historian 
Nicephorus  records  this  description  of  the  Christ,  which  he 
says  has  come  down  from  antiquit}': 


THE   MADONNA   OF  THE  ARBOR — (  DAGNAN-BOUVRET) 

"He  was  very  beautiful.  His  heig-ht  was  fully  seven  spans; 
his  hair  brig-ht  auburn,  and  not  too  thick,  and  was  inclined  to 
wave  in  soft  curls.  His  eyebrows  were  black  and  arched,  and 
his  eyes  seemed  to  shed  from  them  a  "-entle  _<^olden  li^^ht. 
They  were  very  beautiful.  His  nose  was  prominent;  his  beard 
lovely,  but  not  too  long.     He  wore  his  hair,  on  the  contrary, 

.16 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


481 


very  long,  for  no  scissors  had  ever  touched  it.  nor  any  human 
hand  except  that  of  his  mother,  when  she  had  played  with  it 


RAPHAFX   PAINTING   THE   MADONNA    OF    THE   CHAIR 
(j.    \V.    WITTMER,     1802-1880) 

in  his  childhood.  He  stooped  a  little,  but  his  body  was  well 
formed.  His  complexion  was  like  that  of  the  ripe  brown 
wheat,  and  his  face,  like  his  mother's,  rather  oval  than  round, 

37 


482 


JESUS     OF     XAZARl-.TH 


with  only  a  little  red  in  it,  but  throuL'h  it  there  shone  dig-nity. 
intelligence  of  soul,  gentleness,  and  a  calmness  of  spirit  never 
disturbed." 


THE   VISIT    OF   THE    SHEPHERDS — (aLBRECHT    DURER,     I510) 

In  the  Western  Church  a  similar  legend  current  in  the  fif- 
teenth century  did  service,  purporting  to  be  a  letter  of 
Lentulus  to  the  Roman  Senate: 

"There  has  appeared,  and  still  lives,  a  man  of  great  virtue, 
called  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  his  disciples,  the  Son  of  God.  He 
raises  the  dead,  and  heals  the  sick.  He  is  a  man  tall  in  stature, 
noble  in   appearance,   with  a   reverend  countenance  which  at 

38 


AS    ART    RF.VEALS    HIM 


483 


once  attracts  and  keeps  at  a  distance  those  beholding-  it.  His 
hair  is  waving-  and  curly;  a  little  darker  and  of  richer  bright- 
ness where  it  flows  down  from  the  shoulders.     It  is  divided  in 


THE    ADORATION    OF    THE    MACI — CaLBRECHT    DURER,    I5II) 


the  middle  after  the  manner  of  the  Nazirites.  His  brow  is 
smooth,  and  wonderfully  serene,  and  his  features  have  no 
wrinkles,  nor  any  blemish,  while  a  red  glow  makes  his  cheeks 
beautiful.  His  nose  and  mouth  are  perfect.  He  has  a  full, 
ruddy  beard,  the  color  of  his  hair,  not  long,  but  divided  into 
two.  His  eyes  are  bright,  and  seem  of  different  colors  at 
different  times." 

.19 


484 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


These  descriptions  present  an  ideal  which  has  not  greatly 
changed.  Most  of  the  great  masterpieces  that  we  know  and 
love  exhibit  essentially  the  characteristics  upon  which  these 
two  traditions  agree.    They  may  be  quite  worthless  as  history; 


THE    CORONATION    OF    THE    M  ADONNA  — (  UOTTKELLI,    I447-I5IO) 


but  they  certainly  are  of  value  as  showing  a  conception  of 
Christ  in  popular  thought  whose  main  features  have  been  per- 
sistent for  five  hundred  years  at  least,  and  whose  outlines  in 
the  imagination  of  the  Church  are  possibly  centuries  older. 

40 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


485 


IV— MARY  AND   HER  CHILD 
If  Christian  art  has  given  to  the  world  but  one  new  thing, 
that  one  thing  is  the  conception  of  the  vakie  of  child  life  and 
the  beauty  of  motherhood,  as  set  forth  in  the  Madonna  and 


THE    MADONNA — (fILIPPINO    LIPPI,     I460-I505) 

her  Son.  True,  the  Italian  artist's  Madonna  is  an  Italian,  and 
the  Holland  artist's  is  Dutch.  Each  nation  gives  its  own 
shape  to  the  ideal,  and  this  adaptation  but  adds  to  the  glory 
of  it.  The  beautiful  truth  is  one  that  every  Christian  nation 
may  drape  in  its  own  costume.     It  is  the  apotheosis  of  mother- 

41 


486 


JESUS     OF     XAZAKKTH 


hood,  the  crown  and  glory  of  childhood.  It  makes  every 
Christian  mother  a  sharer  in  the  rich  glory  of  the  .Magnificat, 
and  enshrines  every  cradle  with  a  halo  from  the  star  of  Bethle- 
hem. Into  a  world  that  thought  of  woman  with  little  of  honor, 
came  the  Christ-child  to  dignify  at  once  both  motherhood  and 
childhood.      Scenes     so   picturcs(|ue   as     those   attending     the 


MATER   DOLOROSA — (gUIDO   RENI,    I575-1642) 


Incarnation  could  Init  inspire  the  artist.  While  the  theologian 
is  formulating  his  dogma  of  the  incarnate  Logos,  the  artist  is 
compelling  faith  in  the  new  glory  of  childhood  and  of  mother- 
hood with  his  pictures  of  the  Annunciation,  the  Nativity,  the 
Song  of  the  Angels  and  the  adoration  of  the  Magi.  If  Chris- 
tian art  had  failed  everywhere  else,  the  triumph  here  would 
have  been   superlative.      However  well  or  ill  the  artists  have 

42 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIM 


487 


painted  the  face  of  the  man  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  they  have  given 
to  the  Babe  of  I)ethlehem  the  perfection  of  childish  ,grace  and 
beauty.  This  both  registers  and  defines,  if  in  part  it  does  not 
create,  a  popular  ideal,  and  the  result  is  one  which  we  must 
view  with  gratitude. 

The  Madonna  of  the  modern  artist  is  of  another  sort  than 
she  of  the  middle  ages.     She  wears  no  halo;  she  is  not  sur- 


the  virgin  adoring  the  child 
(fra  filippo  lippi,   1412-1469) 


rounded  by  angels.  She  is  just  a  beautiful  young  mother,  with 
a  sweet  baby.  The  "Madonna  of  the  Arbor,"  by  Dagnan- 
Bouveret,  is  beautiful  in  her  pure  robes  of  white,  and  her 
swaddled  baby  takes  us  back  to  Palestine;  but  w-hy  is  she  less 
devotional  than  the  portrait  of  the  cooper's  wife,  drawn  bv 
Raphael  upon  a  barrel-head  in  his  "Madonna  of  the  Chair"?  Is 
the  diiTerence  in   the  spirit   of  the  paintings,   or  in   our  own 

43 


488 


JESUS     OF    NAZARETH 


imagination,  or  in  our  adoration  of  the  ])ast?  Even  when  a 
modern  artist  attempts  ideahzation,  as  Papperitz  in  his  "Queen 
of  Heaven,"  it  is  a  very  different  figure  from  Murillo's  immortal 
"Immaculate  Conception,"  in  which  the  Virgin  is  the  woman 
of  the  Apocalypse  standing  on  the  moon.    There  is  no  attempt 


THE    SISTINE    MADONNA — (RAPHAEL) 

to  conform  her  to  the  requirements  of  a  dogma.  She  is  just 
a  sweet  human  mother,  caught  up  into  the  heavens  by  love — 
love  for  her  baby,  and.  let  us  hope,  love  for  God  who  gave  him. 
The  Madonna  of  to-day  is  not  a  crowned  goddess,  as  Botticelli 
painted  her.  nor  is  she  the  Mater  Dolorosa  of  Guido  Reni. 

44 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM  489 

Even  the  angels  are  sometimes  humanized  in  these  latter- 
day  paintings.  If  full  grown,  they  are  pure  young  women, 
unmistakably  modern,  and  if  cherubs  they  are  twentieth- 
century  babies;    and  he  would  1ie  a  rasli  rnan  who  could  call 


THE    NATIVITY — (w.    A.    BOUHUEREAU,     1825 — ) 

the  former  inferior  to  the  angels  of  Fra  Angelico,  or  the  latter 
less  angelic  than  Raphael's  cherubs. 

Among  the  paintings  which  beautifully  portray  both  mother- 
hood and  childhood,  the  Madonna  of  Correggio  (i 494-1 534), 

45 


THE    MADONNA    AND    CHILD 


Cop>  right  1903  by  Frank  Wood* 
-(CORRECGIO.     1494-1534) 


46 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


491 


deserves  mention.     Stolen  a  century  ago,  and  hidden  away 
in  what  proved  to  be  a  valuable  collection  of  old  masters,  it 


o-Bt^AHA  YMIIACROS^- 

yA  G  Eh:  DE  Mr  a  S.ra  Ac  la  Sokdc 

Courtesy  of  Mr.  Willis  Bradford  Jones 

mexican   madonna 
(slightly  reduced  from  the  original  painting,  on  silk) 


was  discovered  not  many  years  since,  and  competent   critics 
have  pronounced  it  certainly  genuine.    It  needs  no  great  name. 

47 


492  JESUS     OF    NAZARETH 

however,  to  assure  its  beauty.     In  it  both  mother  and  child 
appear  in  the  full  glory  of  their  purity  and  sweetness. 

The  Madonna  of  Mexico  is  interestinjT^.  and  comparatively 
unfamiliar.  A  friend  \vhose  extensive  business  interests  take 
him  on  extended  visits  to  Mexico  has  ])r()curc(l  a  number  of 
early  examples.  One  of  these,  a  quaint  old  miniature  on  silk, 
I  reproduce,  only  a  trifle  reduced  from  the  size  of  the  original. 
It  represents  the  Mrgin.  ricbly  robed  and  crowned,  sur- 
rounded by  emblems  of  the  crucifixion.  The  head  of  Christ 
and  those  of  the  thieves  are  there,  with  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus,  and  the  pierced  hands  and  feet.  Beside  these  are  Peter's 
sword  and  the  cock,  the  lantern  of  the  mob,  and  the  purse 
of  Judas  marked  with  the  value  of  its  contents,  the  scourge, 
the  rope,  the  spear  and  hammer,  and  even  the  dice  with  which 
the  soldiers  cast  lots.  It  would  be  hard  for  art  to  go  farther 
in  the  wav  of  symbolic  realism;  l)Ut  the  Virgin  herself  almost 
redeems  the  picture  with  her  sweetness  and  dignity. 

But  more  famous  is  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  whose  portrait, 
miraculously  painted  on  the  tilma,  the  rough  outer  garment 
of  an  Indian  convert,  on  Deceml)er  12.  1531.  adorns  the  high 
altar  of  the  church  at  Guadalupe.  The  garment  had  been 
fihed  with  roses,  gathered  by  the  Indian  in  a  sterile  place,  to 
prove  the  truth  of  his  message  that  the  Virgin  commanded 
the  building  of  a  church  there,  and  when  the  roses  were 
emptied  at  the  feet  of  the  bishop  to  whom  the  message  was 
sent,  the  portrait  was  discovered  on  the  cloth  of  the  tilma. 
Popes  have  recognized  this  miracle  since  1663,  and  confirmed 
it  by  the  bull  of  May  25,  1754.  In  almost  every  house  in 
Mexico  the  Guadalupe  is  to  l)e  found,  and  is  the  object  of 
most  devout  adoration.  Standing  in  the  crescent  moon,  em- 
bowered in  roses,  and  winged  onward  by  an  upholding  seraph, 
the  Madonna  stands,  erect  and  serene.  Few  pictures  have 
such  interest  as  this.  A  copy  of  it  in  1810  constituted  the 
banner  of  the  Revolution,  led  by  the  political  priest  Hidalgo. 
The  most  famous  of  the  Madonnas  of  the  Old  World,  the 
Sistine,  was  painted  to  be  used  as  a  labarium,  or  banner.  So 
this  most  famous  of  the  Madonnas  of  the  New  World,  by  its 

48 


Courtesy  of  Miss  Grace  E.  Shoemaker 


our  lady  of  guadalupe 
(from  an  early  copy  on  copper) 


49 


494 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


most  noted  copy,  has  done  service  as  a  flag-.  Round  it  rallied 
the  hosts  of  Mexico,  relying-  on  her  protection,  while  they 
fought  for  the  liberties  of  their  country.  Nor  did  her  help 
fail  them,  if  the  issue  may  be  counted  proof;  for.  though  the 
revolutionists  lost,  and  their  leader  was  sentenced  to  death, 
the  spirit  of  the  revolution  revived  again,  and  in  time  the  yoke 
of  Spain  was  cast  off.     The  first  president  of  the  new  republic, 


THE    STAR    OF    BETHl.EITEM — fprOLHEIM) 


Felix  Ferandez,  in  recognition  of  her  signal  favors,  changed 
his  name  to  Guadalupe  Victoria,  and  the  Lady  of  Guadalupe 
became  the  patron  saint,  not  only  of  the  Mexican  church,  but 
of  the  new  nation.  A  very  early  copy  of  the  Guadalupe  has 
been  loaned  me  for  this  book.  It  is  a  painting  in  oil,  on  a 
sheet  of  beaten  copper,  and  is  a  very  faithful  copy  of  the 
original,  with  some  additional  roses  in  the  margin. 

50 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HEM 


495 


He  who  will  trace  the  growth  of  Jesus  from  infancy  to 
youth  through  the  paintings  of  a  single  great  artist,  will  iind 
his  ideal  of  beautiful  motherhood  and  perfect  childhood  almost 
satisfied.  The  paintings  of  Murillo  afford  an  example  which 
may  be  begun  even  further  back.  Let  Mary  first  appear  in  the 
Immaculate  Conception,  her  pure  soul  radiant  through  her 
sweet  face;  and  then  let  the  same  face  be  seen  in  his  Aladonna, 
the  mother  holding  the  child  upon  her  knee,   and  the  face 


HI 

^^^■^^^  '  "^^^K         ^T^^^^^^^l^l 

^^^^HVt     \\&^^^^^^I 

Hn ;'  /  BM^SH^ 

IB^jI 

^BM^^^^^'.'^' 

i^H 

W^^l^mjm^ 

'"  ''i^^vl^^fll^S^^^^^^^^^^^^^I 

Bim^^^^^^HI 

^^^^^^Ih 

the  virgin    and   the   infant   jesus 
(gherardo  delle  nutti.  1590-1656) 


appears  yet  again  in  the  child.  Still  let  the  face  be  followed 
in  paintings  of  the  Flight,  and  the  Repose  in  Egypt,  and  still 
further  as  ]\Iary  gradually  recedes  in  pictures  of  the  Holy 
Family,  and  the  child  is  seen  at  length  alone  with  his  foster- 
father  Joseph.  The  child  shows  nothing  of  the  face  of  Joseph; 
no  human  heredity  appears  save  that  from  Mary;  but  it  is  no 
longer  the  mother's  face  that  we  see  in  the  picture;  it  has  an 
individuality  of  its  own.     Now    Joseph    disappears,  and    the 

51 


THE    VISIT    OF    M  \RV    TO    EI.IZAHETH 
(TITIAN,     I-I77-I5-6) 


52 


THE    ANNUNCIATION 
(dANTE  GABRIEL  R05SETTI,    1828-1882) 


S3 


498 


JESUS     OF     NAZARETH 


cliild  appears  shepherding"  a  lamb — childishly  prophetic  of  the 
coming  work  of  the  Good  Shepherd;  and  the  face  is  that  of 
a  boy,  but  a  wonderful  boy.     At  length  we  detach  the  face  of 


THE    FLIGHT    INTO    EGYPT 
(CLAUDE  LORRAINE.    160O-1682) 

the  child  from  all  others,  and  behold  it  alone.  The  deep,  pure, 
soulful  eyes  are  there,  as  we  first  saw  them  in  Mary;  but  the 
child  is  increasing  in  w^isdom  and  in  stature,  waxing  strong  in 
spirit,  and  the  grace  of  God  is  upon  him.     Tn  whatever  else 

54 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


499 


the  artists  have  failed,  they  liavc  succeeded  here.    The  pictures 
of  the  boyhood  of  Jesus  present  a  strong-  and  beautiful  ideal. 

We  have  but  one  nicident  of  the  youth  of  Jesus  recorded 
in  the  gospels,  together  with  the  general  statements  that  this 
was  exceptional,  that  he  was  subject  to  his  parents,  that  he 
increased  in  wisdom  and  stature  and  in  favor  with  God  and 
man,  and  that  he  was  known  as  a  carpenter.  But  this  is 
enough,  and  the  artists  have  done  well  with  this  material,  nor 


THE    REPOSE    IN    EGYPT — (lEROLLE) 


have  they  in  general  overworked  it.  If  the  mysticism  and 
mannerism  of  the  English  Pre-Raphaelite  are  sometimes 
excessive,  there  is  no  denying  the  rare  beauty  and  power  of 
Holman  Hunt's  painting.  "The  Finding  of  Christ  in  the 
Temple."  If  we  miss  anything  from  the  face  of  the  adult 
Christ  in  the  pictures  of  Hofmann.  we  can  but  admire  the 
eager,  intelligent,  self-possessed  and  high-minded  boy  in  his 
"Christ  and  the  Doctors."  If  Tissot  gives  to  us  grim  and 
unsatisfactory  representations  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows,  the  lad 


500 


JESUS     OF     NAZARl'Tll 


at  the  fountain  with  his  mother  is  dchcate.  and  full  of  soul: 
and  his  carixMitcr  boy  in  "The  Youth  of  Jesus"  is  not  only  a 
vigorous  and  wholesome  apprentice,  but  a  fmc,  thoui^-htful 
lad  as  well,  in  whose  pure,  deep  soul  there  is  the  ponderino-  of 


JESUS    AXD    THE    CllILLiREN 

mysteries  and  conquest  of  self  for  the  sake  of  the  future  as 
yet  unknown.  So  far  as  these  record  accurately  the  popular 
conception  of  the  youth  of  Jesus,  they  stand  for  liio:h  ideals, 
and  they  follow  the  data  afforded  by  the  Gospels  too  faithfully 
to  be  wide  of  the  historic  facts. 

56 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HLM 


501 


Copyrii^ht— Courtesy  of  S.  S.  McClu 


THE  CARPENTER    SHOP   AT    NAZARETH 
(CORWTN    KNAPP   LINSON) 


V— THE  CARPENTER  WHO  BECAME  THE  CHRIST 

Dr.  Farrar  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  Holman  Hunt's 
*'The  Shadow  of  Death"  is  almost  the  only  notable  picture  of 
the  adult  Jesus,  in  the  period  when  he  was  still  a  carpenter. 
The  time  is  sunset,  and  Jesus  is  wearied  with  the  day's  labor. 
He  rises  and  stretches  himself  in  an  attitude  at  once  of  weari- 
ness and  of  prayer.  Back  a  little  in  the  shop  IMarv^  kneels 
beside  the  treasures  given  her  by  the  magi  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  before.  What  did  these  gifts  prefigure?  Some- 
thing causes  her  to  look  up,  and  she  sees  the  shadow  of  his 
outstretched  form  cast  by  the  level  sun  upon  the  rear  wall 
of  the  shop,  where  the  rack  and  tools  form  a  cross.  It  is  a 
great  picture;  but  in  it  Jesus  is  still  the  carpenter:  he  is  not 
yet  the  Christ. 

We  have  the  same  artist's  adult  Christ  in  "The  Light  of  the 
World,"  which  is  said  to  be  the  most  popular  picture  in  Eng- 
land. Tt  is  reverent,  beautiful  and  inspiring;  but  it  does  not 
quite  satisfy.     We  leave  behind  our  feelings  of  complete  satis- 

57 


502 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


faction  when  \vc  pass  from  the  jxiintin^s  of  Jesus'  childhood 
and  youth  to  those  of  his  niinistr\-  and  fully  realized  divinity. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  it  should  be  so.  No  artist  can  paint 
far  above  his  own  head,  or  put  upon  canvas  what  was  not 
first  latent  in  his  own  soul;  and  what  nian  is  not  confessedlv 
bevond  his  abilitv  when  he  essavs  the  face  of  the  Son  of  man? 


THE    SHADOW    OF    DEATH — (w.     HOLMAN     HUNT,     1827 — ) 

Nevertheless,  it  is  the  adult  Christ,  and  not  the  babe  of 
Bethlehem  nor  yet  the  boy  of  Nazareth,  that  must  answer  our 
inquiries  concerning  the  ideal  of  Jesus  as  reflected  in  art. 

The  artists  have  shown  their  limitations  in  this,  and  it  meets 
us  at  once  in  adult  pictures  of  Jesus,  that,  unable  to  add  to 
a  human  face  a  grace  which   they  have  not  known,  at  least 

58 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


503 


in  some  deo^ree,  in  luiman  life,  they  have  made  divinity  by 
subtraction  where  addition  seemed  impossible.  Unable  to 
attain  that  antithesis  of  manlikeness  which  Godlikeness  might 


THE    RESURRECTION    OF    LAZARUS — (bASSANO.     I5IO-IS92) 


afford,  they  have  sought  it  in  that  other  antithesis  which  is 
feminine.  When  the  Church  in  the  middle  ages  froze  all  pity 
from  the  heart  of  the  Christ  of  its  creeds,  men  found  the 
incarnation  of  human  gentleness  and  beauty  in   Mary.     And 

59 


504 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


still  it  is  often  a  womanly  sweetness  that  shows  in  the  face 
of  the  Christ  of  art.  "The  masculine,"  so  the  painters  have 
seemed  to  say,  "is  the  gross,  the  sensual,  the  aggressive,  the 
belligerent.  We  will  make  our  Christ  with  a  woman's  face, 
and  add  a  beard."  Popular  thought  is  in  accord  with  this 
conception.    The  newsi)apers  have  a  standing  word  of  reproach 


^1  ^Bf' r^^   tk 

1  w*S^Lj^^ 

K'  U 

f 

i 

,,sJiHHiiteii 

t 

THE    LAST    SUITER — i  RUBENS,     I577-164O) 


for  any  form  of  masculine  or  aggressive  effort  professedly 
Christian,  and  which  they  do  not  like;  they  speak  of  the  alleged 
offender  with  reproach  or  sarcasm  as  a  professed  disciple  of 
"the  meek  and  loAvly  Jesus."  They  forget  that  Jesus  was  not 
meek  in  all  aspects  of  his  character.  The  astounding  claims 
which  he  made  concerning  himself,  the  bitter  controversies  in 
which  he  engaged,  the  fierce  denunciations  which  he  hurled. 

60 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


505 


the  vigor  with  which  he  used  the  whip  of  cords,  all  these  are 
foreign  to  the  popular  thought  of  him  as  expressed  in  art  and 
literature. 

Where  the    Christ  is  not  represented    as  effeminate,  he  is 
often  not  virile.     The  picture  which  proved  the  turning  point 


THE    CRUCIFIXION — (MICHAEL    ANGELO.     I475-I564) 


in  the  career  of  Tissot  is  that  of  a  ruined  structure,  in  which 
sit  a  peasant  and  his  wife,  he  stolid  in  his  grief,  she  incon- 
solable; and  beside  them  sits  the  Christ,  in  greater  agony, 
bleeding,  helpless,  and  leans  his  thorn-crowned  head  on  the 

61 


5o6 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


shoulder  of  the  man.  It  mii^ht  well  be  that  such  a  vision  of 
the  Christ  who  suffered  with  men  would  affect  powerfully  a 
self-indulgent  worldling  such  as  Tissot  had  been;  and  it  would 
ill  become  any  one  to  speak  disparagingly  of  a  painting  which 
has  so  appealed  to  any  thoughtful  man.  But  it  is  not  satis- 
factory. It  is  an  impotent  Christ  that  meets  us  there.  Tliers 
is  no  power  in  that  wan,  weak  figure.  Those  pierced  hands 
can  neither  beckon,  nor  invite,  nor  caress,  nor  uphold;  they 


THE   DEAD    CHRIST — (  FRA    BARTOLOMMEO,    I469-I5I7) 


cannot  lift  up  the  man,  nor  sustain  the  woman,  nor  rebuild  the 
ruined  structure.  The  stolid  man  is  manly  by  comparison. 
He  has  no  wisdom  about  the  reason  of  it  all,  and  he  has  little 
piety,  but  as  Tissot  says,  he  strives  "to  sit  upright,  and  to  play 
the  man,  even  in  misfortune."  So  far  as  the  picture  shows, 
whatever  of  resource  remains  of  courage,  strength,  or  hope,  is 
in  the  man;  the  woman  and  the  Christ  are  helpless. 

This  is  not  the  Christ  as  the  gospels  show  him.     He  could 
save  from  the  cross;  he  could  encourage  and  give  strength 

62 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


507 


to  his  disciples  when  he  had  risen  from  the  dead.  His  was 
the  strength  and  not  theirs,  in  which  they  went  out  to  preach 
and  to  rebuild  a  ruin.  We  never  shall  have  a  true  picture  of 
the  Christ,  nor  a  correct  mental  ima^e  of  him,  till  we  add 
power  to  his  gentleness  and  majesty  to  his  sufiferings. 


JESUS    AND    THOMAS — (VAN    DYCK,     I599-1641) 


To  take  another  example  from  Tissot,  and  this  time  from 
"The  Temptation;"  it  is  a  passive  and  puny  Christ  whom  he 
represents,  caught  up  to  the  mountain  top  by  the  mighty 
power  of  a  Satan  whose  gigantic  figure  is  athwart  the  sky. 
A  suggestion  of  this  same  Miltonic  greatness  in  Satan,  and 

63 


5o8 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


little  more  than  sentimental  strenj^th  in  Jesus,  is  in  Ary 
Scheffer's  familiar  picture  of  "The  Temptation."  On  the  other 
hand,  Linson's  hne  water  colors,  which  illustrate  Dr.  John 
Watson's  new  Life  of  the  Master,  more  truly  represent  the 
temptation  as  spiritual,  agreeing  in  this  with  the  great  painting 
of  Cornicelius,  and  in  each  the  Christ  has  at  least  spiritual 
strength  capable  of  resistance. 


JESUS    AMONG    THE    DOCTORS — (gIOTTO,    I276-I336) 


But  if  the  pictures  lack  masculinity,  they  do  not  all  lack 
majesty.  There  is  a  kingliness  about  Dore's  "Triumphal 
Entr}%"  and  his  "Christ  leaving  the  Pnctorium,"  whatever 
some  of  his  other  pictures  may  lack  of  devotional  simplicity. 
There  is  self-contained  authority  in  Bida's  "The  Calling  of 
Matthew";  there  is  erect  dignity  and  noble  serenity  in 
Shields'  "Christ    and    Saint   Peter."     If    Munkacsy's  "Christ 

64 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


509 


before  Pilate"  shows  us  the  face  of  a  weary  fanatic,  it  is  at 
least  a  well-poised  and  perfectly  erect  figure  that  supports  that 
face,  and  his  "Ecce  Homo"  has  a  calm  majesty  and  a  certain 
heroic  power  in  its  suffering.  If  Da  Vinci  gives  us  a  face  too 
weak  to  satisfy  our  thoughts  of  the  Christ,  he  also  imparts  a 
sublime  dignity  to  the  central  figure  in  his  "Last  Supper"  that 
has  inspired  reverence  for  centuries.  If  Raphael's  "Draught 
of  Fishes,"  with  its  cramped  action  and  its  impossible  surround- 
ings, does  not  command  the  interest  inspired  by  his  madonnas, 


THE    FINDING    OF    CHRIST    IN    THE    TEMPLE — (W.     HOLMAN    HUNT,     1827 ) 


his  "Transfiguration"  at  least  is  full  of  a  glory  which  is  not 
that  of  Moses  or  Elijah,  but  of  the  glorified  Christ. 

It  is  legitimate  thus  to  group  together  in  a  single  paragraph 
names  of  artists  living  and  others  long  dead:  for  the  present 
conception  of  Christ  is  formed,  not  alone  by  the  paintings  of 
living  artists,  but  also  by  the  living  paintings  of  dead  artists. 
The  past,  so  far  as  it  has  survived,  has  done  so  because  it  has 
reflected  popular  thought:  generally  speaking,  it  continues 
to  survive,  except,  as  it  survives  in  technical  treatises,  only  to 
the  extent  that  it  still  reflects  the  ideals  of  men.  The  extant 
past,  no  less  than  the  evolving  present,  is  ours.     Still,  it  is 

6s 


5IO 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


interestincr  and  profitable  to  compare  the  general  movements 
of  the  past  with  those  which  may  be  traced  in  contemporary 
art. 

Before  turning  aside  for  a  brief  comparison  of  present  and 
former  art,  I  take  occasion  to  mention  the  head  of  Christ 
which  is  used  as  the  frontispiece  of  this  essay,  and  which   I 


the  adoration  of  the  magi 
(albrecht  altdorfer,    1512) 

can  but  count  among  the  most  successful  attempts  to  portray 
the  face  of  Jesus.  It  is  by  an  unknown  artist,  probably  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  has  never  before  been  photographed. 

This  painting,  very  much  begrimed  and  defaced,  came  into 
this  country  some  years  ago  with  other  paintings.  An  artist 
worked  for  months  upon  it  before  the  full  beauty  of  the  draw- 

66 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIM 


511 


ing  and  the  harmony  of  the  color  appeared.  In  color  and  in 
outline  it  at  once  suggests  Titian,  and  is  worthy  of  the  best 
period  of  that  artist's  work.  It  has  all  the  strength  of  Titian's 
Christ  in  "The  Tribute  Money,"  but  has  a  grace  and  winsome- 
ness  which  are  lacking  in  that  great  painting.  Whoever 
painted  it,  he  was  a  master.  The  picture  is  of  a  face  that 
inspires  affection  and  confidence,  and  is  the  product  not  only 
of  high  art  but  of  sincere  religious  feeling. 


PILATE     WASHING     HIS     HANDS — (HANS     HULEEIN.     I517) 


67 


5I-' 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


THE   VISIT   OF   THE    MAGI    TO   THE   CAVE-BORN    CHILD 
(from    THE   CODEX    GRAECUS,    IN    VATICAN,    1613    A.    D. ) 


VI— PAST    AND    PRESENT 


The  art  of  the  Church  has  not  followed  one  continuous  line 
of  development.  There  have  been  long  periods  in  which  it 
has  remained  stationary,  and  others  in  which  it  has  declined. 
Sometimes  the  Church,  which  had  nourished  and  fostered  art, 
so  wrapped  it  about  with  swaddling-  bands  of  tradition  that 
its  life  was  strangled.  Throughout  the  middle  ages  archi- 
tecture was  deemed  far  more  important  than  painting  or 
sculpture.  Following  the  Crusades  came  a  great  era  of  cathe- 
dral building.  Painting  made  little  advance  while  the  nations 
of  Christian  Europe  were  erecting  their  great  Gothic  churches; 
and,  when  artists  wrought  at  all,  as  in  copying  venerable 
manuscripts  with  illuminated  initials  and  illustrations  wrought 
into  the  text,  they  slavishly  followed  the  lines  of  old  Byzantine 
art.  As  early  as  the  ninth  century  there  was  some  attempt  at 
painting  on  church  walls,  but  there  was  no  originality  and  little 
beauty.  Architecture,  the  most  stable  of  the  arts,  went  for- 
ward, but  painting,  most  mobile  of  them,  stood  still  or  went 

68 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIM 


513 


back.    There  was  increased  rigidity  of  line,  and  greater  coarse- 
ness of  coloring. 

To  Giotto,  more  than  to  any  other  one  man,  belongs  credit 
for  the  beginnings  of  better  things.  Working  with  water 
colors  on  fresh  plaster,  he  brought  mural  painting  to  recogni- 
tion.    Glass  painting,  which  had  prevailed  in  the  North,  and 


THE  RAISING  OF  LAZARUS — (REMBRANDT,    1642) 


mosaic  work,  which  Italy  had  inherited  from  Constantinople, 
gave  place  to  wall  painting  as  the  principal  field  for  pictorial 
representation.  There  was  no  striking  individuality  in  the 
faces  of  Giotto's  characters;  they  were  practically  all  alike, 
and  his  draperies  were  scant,  and  his  perspective  showed  no 
great  depth  or  distance.     His  animals  were  little,  under-sized, 

69 


^14  JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 

wooden  things,  and  his  houses  were  frail  and  cramped,  and  his 
trees  and  rocks,  monotonously  alike,  looked  as  if  cut  from 
cardboard.  But  his  principal  characters  always  told  the  story 
of  the  pictures  with  directness  and  effectiveness,  and  the  pic- 


CHRIST    BEFORE    CAIAPHAS — (dURER,     I5I2) 

tures,  crude  enough  in  many  ways,  were  characterized  by 
taste,  discrimination,  and,  what  was  most  important  of  all, 
originality.  Giotto  died  in  1337,  and  a  new  school  began  with 
him;    but  for  another  century  art  was  hampered  by  tradition. 

70 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


515 


In  the  fifteenth  centnry  occnrred  the  Renaissance,  a  period 
of  revolution  and  of  new  birth.    Man  and  nature  had  long  been 


THE  CORONATION  OF  THE  VIRGIN — (fINIGUERRA,    1452) 


Strangers  to  each  other  in  the  world  of  art.  Painters  had  asked, 
not  how  things  looked,  but  how  things  had  been  represented. 
Nature  had  been  counted  sinful,  and  religion  a  more  or  less 


7i 


5i6 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


artificial  ex])e(lient  to  save  man  from  nature.  Artists  had 
taken  their  ideals  from  tradition,  not  life.  The  new  birth  of 
art  from  this  death-like  thralldom  of  conventionality  reached 
every  natit)n  of  Ki:rope.  In  the  Xorth,  where  there  were  fewer 
theoretical  ideals  of  structure,  came  a  new  realism,  blunt  and 


THE    ADUKATION    OF    THE    M.\GI — fpINIGUERRA.     I452) 

coarse  sometimes,  but  sincere.  It  developed  into  the  strong- 
lined  work  of  Holbein  with  his  very  human  German  figures 
full  of  life  and  action.  It  displayed  itself  in  the  pictures  of 
-Mtdorfer,  white-lined  against  dark  backgrounds,  with  the  full 
intent  of  the  painter  revealed  in  clean-cut  contrast.     It  found 

72 


AS     ART    REVEALS     HIM 


517 


expression  in  the  wood-cuts  and  etchings  of  Durer,  with  no 
bkirred  or  obscure  or  conventional  devices,  but  every  line, 
sharp  and  distinct,  telling  its  story  with  originality  and  power. 
It  approached  perfection  in  the  etchings  of  Rembrandt,  with 
lightly  drawn  lines  but  strong  figures,  and  truth  in  them  all. 
It  developed  eccentricity  in  the  use  of  lines,  as  in  the  work  of 
Claude  IMellan,  who  discarded  cross-lines,  and  made  all  his 
shading  by  the  thickening  of  parallel  lines,  and  who  illustrated 
the  mechanical  perfection  of  his  work  in  his  one-line  portrait 
of  Christ. 


THE  LAST   SUPPER — (LEONARDO   DA   VINCI,    I452-I5I9) 


The  painting  of  the  North,  too,  took  on  new  character. 
Living  men  and  women,  not  mere  lay-figures,  took  place  in 
flesh  that  was  almost  warm  to  the  touch,  in  the  work  of 
Rubens,  and  his  art  reached  a  higher  level  of  taste  and  skill 
in  his  pupil  Van  Dyck;  while  Rembrandt,  the  great  painter  of 
Protestantism,  as  well  in  his  paintings  as  in  his  etchings, 
wrought  forms  of  enduring  strength. 

In  Italy  the  whole  atmosphere  was  charged  with  the  new 
life  of  art.  There  was  less  discarding  of  old  ideals,  but  the 
new  wine  overflowed  the  old  bottles,  and  new  art  forms  were 

73 


5i8 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


created.  Man  now  rediscovered  the  world  of  nature.  Xot  till 
much  later  did  Claude  Lorraine,  in  France,  make  paintings  of 
scenery  popular,  with  foliage  perfectly  drawn,  but  with  the 
figures  so  overwhelmed  by  the  landscape  that  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  say  he  made  no  extra  charge  for  the  people  in  his 
paintings;  the  real  discovery  of  nature  was  the  discovery  of 
man.  The  artists  now  wrought  with  new  strength,  and 
imparted  to  their  work  an  individuality  till  then  unknown.     It 


THE   LAST    SUPPER — CfRA    ANGELICO,    I387-I455) 


displayed  itself  in  the  one  strong  painting  of  Verrocchio,  "The 
Baptism  of  Jesus,"  whose  foremost  angel  is  said  to  have  been 
painted  by  the  artist's  pupil,  Leonardo  da  Vinci;  and  in  da 
Vinci's  great  painting  of  the  "Last  Supper";  and  in  the  few 
extant  paintings  of  his  pupil  Luini.  It  took  ornate  form  in 
the  work  of  the  Lippis,  father  and  son,  and  in  Botticelli.  Fra 
Angelico  gave  it  grace  and  delicacy  born  of  fasting  and  prayer, 
and  Raphael  imparted  to  it  strength  and  enduring  beauty. 
Art  was  born  again,  and  in  a  good  time;  for  the  invention  of 

74 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIAI 


519 


printing,  the  discovery  of  the  New  World,  and  the  Reforma- 
tion were  parallel  movements  outward  of  the  mind  of  man. 
The  Renaissance  belonged  with  all  these,  for  it  was  a  breaking 
of  old  and  hampering  traditions,  and  a  self-assertion  of  free- 
dom and  sincerity.  It  was  expressed  in  many  and  varying 
forms — in  Durer's  bold  and  expressive  lines  and  in  Titian's 
kneading  over  his  thick  paint  with  his  fingers  till  models  stood 
transferred  to  canvas  in  the  warmth  and  color  of  veritable 
flesh. 


THE    LAST    SUPPER — (ziMMERMANN,     1852 — ) 


Into  this  new  world  of  art  the  Christ  entered,  and  his 
entrance  gave  new  life  to  art.  It  was  a  Christ  more  human, 
sharing  more  the  life  of  men,  whom  the  artists  painted.  The 
atmosphere  of  the  Church  was  all-pervading  and  not  always 
favorable  to  freedom;  but  the  great  paintings  of  the  world 
were  then  wrought  by  men  of  skill  and  earnestness. 

It  is  interesting  to  remind  ourselves  again  that  the  likeness 
of  Christ  is  now  widely  disseminated  not  alone  by  sing-le  paint- 
ings, but  by  the  multiplying  power  of  the  printing  press.  The 
story  of  the  beginnings  of  plate  engraving  for  the  purpose  of 

75 


520 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


printing  may  not  be  familiar  to  all  who  read  this  chapter.     It 
came  about  almost  by  accident. 

In  the  Roman  churches  of  the  middle  ages,  great  skill  was 
developed  by  the  goldsmiths  in  the  engraving  of  the  "pax," 
a  little  silver  plate  on  which  the  host  was  to  be  elevated  in 
the  service  of  the  mass.  The  design  was  cut  out  of  the  flat 
plate  of  silver,  and  the  lines  w^ere  filled  wath  a  black  composi- 
tion to  bring  out  the  design.  The  plate  thus  completed  was 
called  a  niello.  ]\Iaso  di  Finignerra,  a  goldsmith,  about  1452, 
was   experimenting   with   a  nearly   finished   pax,    by   pouring 


^^ 

^■^■'  "V^^ 

wfllKB!^^. 

^^^Sii 

^^'S*n'"^ 

M^ 

&  #11  ^ 

i. 

^^^v^^^l^C^wl^^^^H 

i      ' 

f1 

'-•■^v^Vi,-.  . 

^? 

■  ^  . ^ 

R^3?f^iy:^| 

CHRIST    AT    EMMAUS — (fRA    ANGELICO,     I387-I455) 


melted  sulphur  over  it,  the  better  to  test  his  workmanship. 
He  found  that  he  could  obtain  better  results  by  filling  the  lines 
with  ink  and  rul^bing  it  against  dampened  paper.  A  roller 
soon  was  added,  and  a  smooth  impression  obtained;  and  a  new 
art  was  gi\cn  to  the  world.  The  very  first  plate  ever  so 
employed  in  printing,  as  books  on  this  subject  declare,  was 
"The  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,"  in  1452,  or  as  some  authors 
state,  in  1460.  Prints  from  this  first  plate  are,  of  course, 
superlatively  rare;  but  one  of  these  priceless  little  sheets  has 
been  loaned  me  for  this  volume,  with  another,  "The  Nativity," 
equally  precious  and  more  perfect  in  execution  by  the  same 

76 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


521 


engraver.     They  are  here  reproduced  in  the  exact  size  of  the 
originals. 

The  reproduction  of  these  first  two  prints  in  this  latest 
volume  illustrates  the  extent  to  which  the  art  of  the  j^ast  has 
been  perpetuated  by  the  press.  It  is  a  far  cry  from  this  begin- 
ning until  now,  when  almost  every  great  painting  of  merit  is 


CHRIST    AT    EMMAUS — (REMBRANDT,     1634) 


photographed,  and  the  results  are  brought  together  in  startling 
juxtaposition.  The  art  of  all  the  intervening  generations  is 
now  ours,  with  the  art  of  the  present  as  well. 

If  one  were  seeking  absolute  justice  in  dealing  with  periods 
of  art.  he  would  compare  only  those  that  are  completed.  He 
would  not  compare  current  art  with  the  art  of  the  past,  for 

77 


522 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


the  art  of  the  present  is  j^ood,  bad,  and  indifferent,  and  the 
art  of  the  past  that  has  survived  is  winnowed  out  of  many  ^<ges, 
and  the  best  of  those  ae^es  as  judged  by  themselves  and  the 
generations  following.  The  most  enthusiastic  devotee  of 
modern  art  would  not  pretend  that  any  one  generation  is 
producing  as  many  masterpieces  as  all  past  generations.     A 


CHRIST    HEALING   A   CHILD — (gABRIEL   MAX,    184O — ) 


comparison,  if  made  at  all.  must  be  within  limits,  and  must 
consider  the  art  of  the  present  time  in  its  general  ideals  and 
movements,  as  compared  with  the  general  trend  of  that  from 
which  it  diverges. 

A   modern   artist   can   hardly  place  himself,   religiously  and 
intellectually,  on  a  common  level  with  the  artist  of  the  six- 

78 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


523 


teenth  century.  His  thought  of  God,  the  world,  revelation, 
and  the  mission  of  Christ  all  are,  or  ought  to  be,  wider.  A 
Fra  Angelico  Christ  would  be  an  affectation  in  a  modern  artist. 
A  Fra  Filippo  Lippi  Madonna  would  be  impossible  to  an  artist 
living  among  modern  men  and  women.  To  what  shall  he 
aspire? 

He  may  imitate  the  ideals  and  lives  of  the  old  artists,  but 
his  work  will  lack  originality  and  strength.  The  old  masters 
did  better,  in  their  way,  than  he  can  do.  He  may  attempt 
an  idealism  like  that  of  the  English  Pre-Raphaelites.  but  his 
work,  however  rich  and  interesting,  will  lack  simplicity,  and 
will  be  in  danger  of  lacking  sincerity.  Some  modern  artists 
have  painted  in  each  of  these  ways,  and  their  work  does  not 
lack  interest.  But  the  work  that  lays  hold  on  men's  hearts  is 
that  which  makes  real  either  the  Christ  who  lived  in  Galilee, 
or  the  Christ  who  now  lives  among  men. 

In  two  very  different  ways  modern  art  manifests  its  tendency 
to  realism.  One  group  of  artists,  of  whom  the  best  known 
recent  representative  is  Tissot,  seeks  to  reproduce  the  historic 
situation,  to  photograph  the  local  surroundings,  and  to  secure 
in  the  drapery  and  background  all  that  modern  Palestine  can 
disclose  of  actual  conditions  as  they  were  in  the  time  of  our 
Lord. 

The  other  school  is  represented  by  Beraud,  L'Herrritte  and 
Von  Uhde.  It  leaves  Palestine  and  its  ways  and  people 
entirely  out  of  account,  and  finds  its  backgrounds  in  the  paint- 
er's own  vicinity.  Zimmerman's  "Last  Supper"  dresses  the 
disciples  in  the  garb  of  men  of  today.  It  is  very  different  from 
Da  Vinci's  or  Fra  Angelico's,  but  neither  of  these  is  at  all  true 
to  Palestine  life. 

But  when  have  painters  stopped  for  anachronism,  or  by  what 
law  of  art  are  they  enjoined  from  it?  The  older  painters  in 
their  naivete  painted  a  Christ  of  their  own  nation;  or  if  they 
attempted  to  draw  him  as  he  was,  they  succeeded  merely  in 
making  him  foreign  to  their  own  time,  in  a  forced  solemnity 
that  consisted  largely  in  strangeness.  If  Durer  had  painted 
other  than  a  German  Christ,  it  would  not  have  been  the  Christ 

79 


524 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


of  Tissot's  close  study  of  the  land  and  its  people.     Idie  Christ 
he  painted  was  German  hecause  the  artist  knew  no  other.    But 


"save,  lord,  or  I  rERi.sii!" — (  FKEuiiRic  shields) 

Luther's  great  ambition  in  his  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  "to  make  the  apostles  speak  German."  and  if  the 

80 


AS    ART     RF.VEALS     1 1  HI 


525 


translator  may  attempt  this  with  intent,  why  may  not  the 
painter? 

In  the  convent  of  San  Marco  in  Florence,  trebly  honored 
by  the  names  of  Savonarola,  Fra  Bartolommeo  and  Fra 
Angelico,  one  finds  the  apostles  represented  in  the  garb  of 
the  convent.  The  last  supper  is  a  sacrament  administered  by 
the  Lord  to  these  brethren.  Sw^eetest  and  simplest  of  these 
adaptations,  the  two  disciples  at  Emmaus  are  two  brothers  of 
the  order,  welcoming  Jesus  to  the  convent.  It  is  a  picture 
of  Christian  hospitality  as  beautiful  and  devout  as,  in  its 
setting,  it  is  natural  and  appropriate.  But  the  modern  paint- 
ing of  L'Hermitte  wath  the  disciples  as  hard-toiling  peasants, 
exhibits  the  same  principle  differently  applied.  What  the  pic- 
ture lacks  in  historic  accuracy — which  is  totally  disregarded — 
it  gains  in  naturalness  and  impressiveness. 

As  compared  wath  ancient  paintings,  it  might  be  affirmed 
that  modern  religious  art  is  more  learned  and  less  reverent. 

But  it  is  difficult  to  determine  just  how  reverent  the  ancient 
artists  were.  Raphael  could  paint  "The  Fornarina"  with  as 
good  grace  as  "The  Madonna,"  and  Ru]:»ens  was  quite  as  intent 
on  displaying  the  charms  of  the  Flemish  beauties  who  furnished 
his  Scripture  models  as  of  interpreting  real  Bible  scenes.  Nor 
are  we  safe  in  affirming  that  modern  art  lacks  reverence  be- 
cause it  savors  less  of  the  cloister  and  more  of  the  life  of  the 
day.  Jesus  himself  lived  among  men,  and  the  pictures  that 
reproduce  the  atmosphere  of  a  given  age  may  most  truly  inter- 
pret to  that  age  the  fitting  background  for  a  portrait  of  the 
Christ. 

Some  of  the  modern  paintings  are  weakly  sentimental.  They 
appeal  only  to  a  passing  fancy.  If  they  are  other  than  imita- 
tions they  depend  upon  eccentricity  rather  than  religious  feel- 
ing and  sincerity.  They  proceed  from  a  wish  to  make  a  pretty 
picture  rather  than  a  passionate  desire  to  reveal  the  Christ  to 
men.  But  not  all  modern  paintings  are  of  this  character;  nor 
were  all  the  old  masters  free  from  the  faults  of  modern  artists. 

81 


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JESUS    OF    XAZARETH 


VII— THE  CHRIST  OF  TO-DAY 


This  essay,  it  can  hardly  need  to  be  said,  attempts  no  cata- 
logue of  painters,  ancient  or  modern,  and  does  not  undertake 
in  any  way  to  be  exhaustive.  The  most  that  it  can  hope  is 
to  sketch  very  briefly  a  few  of  the  things  that  are  representa- 
tive. I  wish  to  mention  a  very  few  modern  artists,  and  to 
characterize  the  Christ  whom  they  are  revealing  to  the  people 
of  to-day.     Some  of  them  rest  their  reputations  as  painters 


CHRIST  AND  THE  YOUNG  RULER — (hOFMANN.   1824 — ) 


of  the  Christ  upon  a  single  great  picture,  as  Burne-Jones  in 
his  "Mary  at  the  Sepulchre,"  and  L'Hermitte,  in  the  painting 
already  referred  to.  Munkacsy,  also,  is  known  almost  wholly 
by  his  "Christ  before  Pilate,"  though  the  thin-faced  enthusiast 
in  this  picture,  dignified  only  by  his  calmness,  meekness  and 
erect  poise,  lacks  the  heroic  power  of  his  "Ecce  Homo." 

But  most  of  the  modern  painters  who  have  made  a  distinct 
impression    have    done     so    in     series    of    illustrations    cov- 

82 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


527 


ering  practically  the  whole  of  the  life  of  Christ.  Of  these 
are  Dore,  whose  works  are  careless  in  execution,  and  weari- 
some with  their  long-  perpendicular  lines,  but  not  lacking  in 
dignity  and  a  certain  inflexible  grace.  Overbeck's  series  is  dis- 
tinctly conventional  and  academic,  but  reverent  and  sincere. 
Bida,  too,  in  his  illustrated  Bible  series,  gives  us  a  Christ  who 
moves  through  the  whole  series  of  incidents  of  the  gospels. 
And,  whether  Jesus  sits  passive  and  meditative  by  the  sea,  or 


THE    MAN    CHRIST   JESUS — ChOFMANN,    1824 — ) 


stands  before  the  booth  of  Matthew,  and,  erect  and  calm,  calls 
this  man  of  affairs  from  his  business  with  assurance  and  self- 
control,  the  Christ  is  lovable  and  impressive. 

Among  all  the  modern  artists,  none  holds  a  place  so  dear 
among  the  people  as  Hofmann.  If  his  Christ  lacks  mascuHnity, 
he  does  not  lack  lovableness.  The  two  heads  of  Christ  most 
popular  in  the  art  stores  are  from  details  of  his  pictures — the 
boy  Jesus  in  the  temple,  and  the  man  Jesus  looking  upon  the 
clean,  upright  young  ruler  with  love  and  invitation  in  his  face. 

83 


52^ 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  picture  of  the  face  of  Christ 
has  supplanted  in  popular  affection  the  thorn-crowned  "Ecce 
Homo"  of  Guido  Reni,  and  is,  next  to  Da  Vinci's  great  paint- 
ing, the  best  loved  head  of  Christ. 

Tissot,  too.  presents  his  Christ,  not  in  a  single  scene,  but 
in  a  series  covering  the  whole  extent  of  the  land  in  which  he 
lived.  In  every  valley  between  the  Jordan  and  the  sea  he  has 
portrayed  him;  on  every  hill  top  from  Xazareth  to  Bethlehem 


ECCE    HOMO — (guido   RENI,    I575-1642) 


he  has  painted  him,  walking  over  the  rocky  hills,  resting  or 
teaching  by  the  wayside,  or  in  the  home  or  on  the  boat,  and 
the  Christ  who  appears  in  all  dignifies  and  beautifies  every 
scene  and  leaves  his  own  image,  clear  and  noble,  after  the  last 
landscape  has  faded  away. 

In  these  paintings  the  efifect  is  cumulative.  The  Christ  is 
seen,  not  in  a  single  incident  which  might  not  fitly  represent 
his  life,  but  in  the  whole  round  of    his  blessed    activity,  con- 

84 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


529 


sistent  and  a1)idins;- — the  Christ  of  the  whole  of  human  hfe. 
And  when,  from  one  of  these  series,  the  head  is  presented  in 
detail,    the   beholder  mentally   places   that    lovable    face   and 


CHRIST  BLESSING  LITTLE  CHILDREN — (  HOFMANN,    1824 — ) 


figure,  not  simply  back  in  the  paintings  from  one  of  which  it 
has  been  taken,  nor  yet  alone  in  the  scenes  of  his  earthly 
ministry,  but  into  every  normal  and  justifiable  relation  of  life; 
and  seeing  him  there,  cries  with  new  and  reverent  meaning — 

8s 


530 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


"Behold  the  Man."     The  Ecce  Homo  of  to-day  is  the  ever- 
hving  Christ. 

Notable  among  American  achievements  in  rehgious  art,  and 
thoroughly  characteristic  as  well,  are  the  water  colors  of  Mr. 
Corwin  Knapp  Linson.  His  pictures  are  based  upon  actual 
study  in  the  Holy  Land;  and  though  the  study  was  neither  so 
long  nor  so  arduous  as  that  of  Tissot,  he  has  caught  the  local 
color  admirably.     His  pictures  are  used  to  illustrate  Dr.  John 


"come,   lord  JESUS,   AND  BE  OUR  GUESt" — ( FRITZ  VON    UHDE,    1846 — ) 


Watson's  "Life  of  the  Master,"  and  are  one  of  the  best  adapta- 
tions of  the  new  three-color  work  to  serious  book-making. 
Since  my  own  visit  to  Palestine  I  have  turned  to  Linson's 
pictures  with  satisfaction,  and  I  count  them  the  best  example 
of  American  art  dealing  with  the  life  of  Christ  in  its  touch 
with  the  soil  of  Palestine. 

Among  American  illustrators  Frank  Beard  holds  a  somewhat 
unique  place  in  his  use  of  caricature  in  religious  journalism. 
As  his  pictures  are  designed  to  be  sermons,  they  occasionally 

86 


AS    ART    REVEALS     HIM 


531 


introduce  the  person  of  Christ,  rebuking  hypocrisy  or  rescuing 
the  abandoned.  Hastily  made,  and  with  all  the  limitations  that 
accompany  the  cartoon  of  the  popular  newspaper,  they  are 
always  reverent,  and  in  thorough  earnest.     While  Mr.  Beard 


THE    HOLY   FAMILY — (FRITZ    VON    UHDE.    1846 ) 


is  fearless  in  introducing  the  Christ  into  his  every-dav  cartoons, 
he  draws  the  figure  with  reserve.  The  cartoon  entitled  ''The 
Lost  Sheep"  is  one  of  the  few  in  which  he  has  drawn  the  face 
of  the  Christ,  a  more  frequent  attitude  being  that  in  "Behold, 

87 


53^ 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock.'"  which  Mr.   Beard  counts  his 
best  cartoon  intro(hicing-  the  person  of  the  Saviour. 

Among  American  artists  who  are  seeking  to  interpret  the 
Christ  in  the  free  Hfe  among  men,  and  in  the  clear  hght  of 
the  wide  out-of-doors,  is  Mr.  Alfred  Juergens.  Strong,  orig- 
inal, and  free,  his  paintings  arc  full  of  life  and  i)ower.     He  is 


THE    ANGEI.    AND    THE    SHEPHERDS — (fRITZ    VON     UHDE,     1846 — ) 


now  engaged  in  painting  two  very  large  mural  paintings  for 
a  church  in  Chicago.  I  am  able  to  reproduce  his  study  for  the 
head  of  Christ  as  it  is  to  be  used  in  one  of  these — the  bless- 
ing of  the  children. 

I  have  already  mentioned   the  best  known   painter  of  the 
peasant  Christ,  Fritz  von  Uhde  of  Munich.     At  a  glance  one 

88 


AS    ART     REVEALS     MIM 


533 


sees  his  method,  which  is  to  place  the  Clirist  amono-  German 
peasants  of  to-day,  antl  to  have  him  seem  at  home  amon^-  them. 
His  "Come,  Lord  Jesus,  and  be  our  Guest,"  is  an  invitation 
offered  by  a  German  rustic  in  heavy  wooden  shoes,  and  sec- 
onded by  his  sturdy  but  reverent  wife.  The  old  man  in  the- 
corner — a  common  old  German  grandsire — comes  forward  with, 
bent  form  to  add  his  humble  welcome,  and  the  children, 
chubby,  German  children  with  good  appetites,  stand  behind 
their  chairs  till  he  is  seated.     The  sermon  on   the  mount   is 


ONE  OF   FRITZ    VON    UHDE  S    CHERUBS 


preached  to  peasant  mothers  and  their  children,  and  farmers 
with  rakes  over  their  shoulders,  fresh  from  the  hay-field.  The 
angel  who  wakes  the  German  shepherds  on  Christmas  eve  is 
a  sixteen-year-old  German  girl  w'ith  wings.  The  sermon  from 
the  boat  is  preached  to  just  such  girls  who  forget,  while  listen- 
ing to  Jesus,  to  plash  their  bare  feet  in  the  water,  and  to  the 
fathers  and  brothers  and  mothers  of  these  same  girls.  The 
Holy  Family  is  equipped  with  an  inexpensive  babv-basket,  and 
Mary  is  the  most  lovable  little  German  mother,  bending  over 

89 


534 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


the  basket,  while  in  the  distance  the  German  Joseph  saws  wood. 
L'Hermitte  has  given  us  but  a  single  well-known  painting 
of  the  Christ  of  the  peasants,  and  Zimmermann  but  two  or  three. 
Uhde,  on  the  contrary,  has  painted  many,  and  is  painting 
more,  and  the  seriousness  of  his  purpose  grows  more  evident, 
and  marks  him  as  the  best  exponent  of  this  type  of  modern  art. 


STUDY    FOR    THE    HEAD    OF    CHRIST — (ALFRED    JUERGENS.    ig03) 

Uhde's  pictures  branded  him  as  a  heretic,  .\rtists  denounced 
him  for  breaking  away  from  their  traditions.  Theologians 
stood  astounded  at  his  heterodoxy.  The  emperor  made  no 
secret  of  his  displeasure.  But  still  people  looked  at  the 
pictures.  They  could  be  denounced,  but  not  despised.  They 
were  unconventional,  but  unmistakably  reverent.  They 
revealed   the   democratic   Christ,   independent   of  ecclesiastics 

90 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


535 


and  of  traditions,  coming  close  to  the  every-day  life  of  men. 
And  men  saw  the  Saviour  anew  in  them,  and  the  artist's  fame 
grew.  To  the  emperor's  disgust  he  became  professor  in  the 
Royal  Academy,  and  both  artists  and  ministers  of  the  gospel 
see  in  his  work  a  revelation  of  the  nearness  of  Christ  to  men. 
Some  recent  painters  have  become  unconscious  theologians 
and  politicians  in  their  portrayal  of  the  democratic  Christ. 
These  simple  peasants  in  the  paintings  of  Von  Uhde — they  are 
no  candidates  for  ordination;    neither  are  they  henceforth  to 


THE  GREAT   PHYSICIAN — (GABRIEL   MAX,    184O — ) 


be  spiritually  subject  to  the  orders  of  others.  Others  wiser 
may  teach  them;  others  hoHer  may  guide  them;  but  the  Christ 
himself  is  near  them,  and  who  shall  stand  between? 

The  difference  between  Uhde  in  grouping  common  people 
about  the  person  of  Jesus,  and  the  painters  of  the  middle  ages, 
is  less  than  might  be  supposed.  These,  also,  filled  up  their 
"holy  families"  from  people  about  them.  But  Holbein  put 
German  nobility  and  Raphael  painted  prosperous  Italians  into 
their  paintings — people  who  could  afiford  to  buy  the  paintings 

91 


536 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


afterward.  Wliile  Uhde's  models  know  little  of  art.  thcv  may 
know  somethinj:^  of  their  Lord.  At  any  rate,  the  apparent 
motive  of  these  older  artists  is  hardly  possible  to  the  man 
who  seeks  the  faces  of  the  poor  to  fill  in  the  background  of 
his  paintinsi^s  of  the  Christ.  However  faulty  thcv  mav  be  as 
works  of  art,  they  are  not    open  to    the  suspicion  of    being 


THE   SAVIOUR   OF   THE   WORLD — (f.    BUCHER) 


mercenary,  and  if  they  strain  somewhat  after  novelty  they 
exhibit  a  devout  spirit  which  even  the  most  severe  critic  must 
recognize. 

The  methods  of  modern  painters  have  unquestionably  made 
Jesus  more  human,  more  a  man  among  men;  and.  in  this  art 
reflects    the    spirit    of    the  age.     Yet    just    here    he    appears 

92 


AS    ART     REVEALS     HLAI 


537 


the  more  transcendent,  not  by  reason  of  a  halo  or  by  arbi- 
trary position  upon  the  canvas,  but  by  right  of  his  inherent 
di«-nity  and  power.  Indeed,  we  meet  a  notable  discovery, 
namely,  that  the  Christ  ideal  will  bear  transportation  out  of 
the  conventions  of  recognized  art,  and  of  the  environments 
of  actual  history,  and  still  retain  its  power.  Next  to  Von 
Uhde's  paintings  should  be  placed  L'Hermitte's  "Supper  at 
Emmaus,"  in  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  in  Boston,  which  shows 


CHRIST     WITH     PEASANTS — Cl'hERMITTe) 


us  a  peasant  Christ,  among  peasant  disciples.  The  solemnity 
and  reverence  of  the  painting  are  as  unquestionable  as  its 
spiritual  power.  It  dignifies  not  only  peasant  life  in  Galilee, 
but  the  common    life  of  all  humble    followers. 

Modern  art  has  shown  some  even  more  daring  innovations, 
and  they  are  not  wholly  without  value  as  interpretations.  The 
paintings  of  Jean  Beraud  are  an  excellent  example  and  an 
extreme  one  as  well.  Making  his  earlier  paintings  of  modern 
life  from  the  window  of  a  cab  in  the  streets  of  Paris,  or  from 

93 


538 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


a  house  boat  on  the  Seine,  he  has  introduced  the  identical 
types,  costumes  and  all,  into  his  scenes  from  the  life  of  Christ. 
Mary  Magdalene  lies  at  his  feet  in  her  Parisian  ball  dress  in 
a  well-appointed  Paris  dining-room,  while  Simon  the  Pharisee 
stands  by,  well  dressed,  but  not  over  dressed,  well  bred  as  the 
world  counts  breeding,  a  well-fed,  prosperous  Parisian  gentle- 
man with  moustache  turning  gray,  courteous  but  cynical,  and 
his  guests  sit  forward  in  their  chairs  with  languid  curiosity,  or 


JESUS    AMONG    PHARISEES — CjEAN    BERAUd) 

mild  suprise,  or  stand  and  look  at  her  with  supercilious  pity  or 
easy-going  scorn,  or  in  the  background  pass  joking  remarks 
about  the  intruder  and  her  near  approach  to  Jesus.  Prominent 
living  men  of  Paris  sat — unconsciously  and  unwillingly — for 
their  portraits  in  this  painting,  which  transports  the  life  of 
Jesus  into  present-day  society,  where  he  finds  well-bred  cyni- 
cism and  lack  of  sympathy.  As  of  old  the  proud  have 
rejected  him,  while  still,  as  then,  poor,  penitent  souls  are  for- 
given and  blessed.     And  the  Master  sits  in  the  midst  of  those 

94 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


539 


representatives  of  cultured  but  godless  society,  a  rebuke  to 
the  hypocrisy  and  veneered  goodness  of  modern  respectability. 
This  picture  is  now  interdicted  in  Paris  because  of  its  person- 
ality. My  friend  obtained  a  copy  with  considerable  difficulty. 
In  another  painting  by  the  same  artist,  the  Master  is  on  the 
way  to  Calvary.  Modern  faces  view  his  passion  with  emotions 
varying  from  heart-felt  grief  to  undisturbed  composure;  your 


Copyright  by  Braun  Clement  et  cie. 


CHRIST    BEARING    THE    CROSS — (jEAN    BERAUD) 


man  of  the  world  is  there,  not  much  disturbed  if  this  has  no 
efifect  on  trade;  your  well  dressed  blasphemer  raises  his  well 
trained  voice;  and  yonder  a  misguided  workman,  hating  the 
good  with  the  sham  that  he  has  seen  and  suffered,  stoops  for 
a  stone  to  fling  at  him.  In  still  another  picture  the  Crucified 
is  taken  from  the  cross,  and  there  is  modern  grief  and  modern 
pity  and  modern  loyalty  that  will  be  faithful  unto  death;  but 

95 


540 


JESUS    OF    XAZARETH 


it  is  the  background  that  is  notable  in  this  picture;  for  the 
cross  stands  not  on  Calvary,  but  on  Montmartrc,  and  vender 
is  the  city,  not  Jerusalem,  but  Paris,  sleeping,  smoking,  sin- 
ning Paris,  all  unconscious  of  the  cloud  that  gathers  above 
the  cross  in  sight,  all  heedless  of  the  tragedies  enacted  within 
her  over  which  the  heavens  grow  dark,  and  oblivious  in  her 
pleasure-seeking  of  the  low-browed  anarchist  standing  on  the 


Copyrtfrht  by  Braun  Clement  et  cfe. 


THE  DESCENT  FROM   THE  CROSS — (jEAN   BEKAUD) 


slope  and  pouring  out  the  curses  of  the  oppressed  and  tyran- 
nized against  the  city  where  Christ  is  crucified  in  the  wrongs 
his  brethren  suffer.  All  this  is  anachronism  of  the  most  daring 
kind,  and  if  at  first  thought  it  seems  irreverent,  it  certainly  is 
not  so  intended,  and  there  is  a  sermon  in  it. 

The  French  pictures  commonly  lack  the  depth  and  tender- 
ness of  the  best  of  the  German;  but  there  is  often  a  keen  dis- 

96 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


541 


cernment  and  a  trenchant  satire  lliat  is  most  effective.  One 
of  these  l)y  Debat-Possan  takes  a  powerful  hold  on  the  imag- 
ination. It  represents  the  horrors  of  modern  war,  the  slauj^hter 
of  men.  the  massacre  of  women,  the  wanton  destruction  of 
homes,  and  it  draws  both  victims  and  victors  from  portraits 


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Copyright,  1901,  bj'  Braun  Clement  et  cie. 
THE   SCOURGING   OF   JESUS — (JEAN    HERAUD) 


of  historic  characters.  There  stand  Francis  I.  Conde,  "le 
grande"  Louis  XIV,  Coligny,  and  other  heroes  of  the  bloody 
field,  regarding  their  devilish  work  with  complacency,  while 
above  them,  on  a  little  elevation,  appears  the  Christ,  saying, 
"Why  have  ye  done  this?"  It  is  a  picture  as  full  of  pathos  as 
of  satire,  and  is  an  effective  sermon  in  favor  of  peace. 

97 


Copyrigrlit  by  Braun  Clement  et  cie. 

'if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me" — (  joseph-aubekt) 

98 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


543 


Among  the  most  sympathetic  and  spiritual  of  contemporary 
European  artists  is  Joseph-Aubert,  five  of  ^yhose  recent  pic- 
tures are  incUided  in  this  volume.  They  are  as  tender  in  their 
religious  feelings  as  they  are  faithful  in  technique,  and,  like 
Hebert's  "Betrayal,"  they  appeal  at  once  to  the  heart  of  the 
beholder. 

Among  young  English  painters,  none  better  deserves  men- 
tion than  Frederic  Shields.     His  "Good  Shepherd"  is  gentle 


"why  have  ye  pone  this?" — (debat-ponsan) 

and  sincere;  and  his  "Christ  and  Peter"  is  full  of  religious 
feeling.  It  is  said  that  one  poor,  sinful  man,  looking  at  this 
picture,  and  feeling  himself  sinking  in  his  shameful  life,  sobbed, 
"He  can  save  me,  too,"  and  echoed  Peter's  prayer,  and  heard 
in  his  renewed  soul  the  answer. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  say  a  word  of  each  of  the  newer 
paintings  which  are  here  presented,  but  they  tell  their  own 
story.     Whether  we  view  the  Christ  in  Ruederstein's  "SufTer 

99 


544 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


little  children,"  or  in  the  faithfnl  paintings  of  Kirchbach,  or 
in  Anderson's  three  scenes  of  the  Lord  and  the  Adulteress, 
or  in  Hugo  ^lieth's  "The  Widow's  Mite,"  the  Christ  whom 
we  behold  is  one  to  love  and  honor  and  follow.  In  Girardet's 
"On  the  \\'ay  to  Kmmaus."  just   from  the  easel,  the  face  of 


"behold,    I   STAND   AT   THK   DOOK    AND    KNOCK !" — (FRANK    DEAKD,    liJ02) 


the  Saviour  is  dim,  and  our  eyes  are  holdcn,  but  our  hearts 
burn  within  us  as  we  walk  with  him  b\-  the  way.  In  W'ehle's 
"Behold,  I  send  you  forth,"  we  walk  with  him  a<;ain,  this  time 
through  the  fields.  It  is  not  that  w^e  may  ])luck  the  ripening 
grain,  and  rub  it  in  our  hands.  It  is  the  harvest  of  the  world, 
and  the  master  is  calling  his  disciples  to  him,  one  by  one,  giv- 

lOO 


AS     ART    REVEALS     IIIM 


545 


ing"  each  his  mission,  and  telHnq"  each  to  be  failliful  to  the 
end.  W'e  need  not  ask  whether  sncli  pictures  are  to  live;  it 
is  enough  that  they  now  Hve,  and  that  they  faithfully  interpret 
the  Christ  to  men. 

VIII— THE    CHRIST    OF   TO-MORROW 

I  have  noted  the  double  tendency  to  realism,  and  have  com- 
mended it.     It  would  be  pleasant  to  say  that  modern  religious 


THE  LAST  COMMUNION — fjOSEPH-AUBERT,    I9OO) 

art  has  also  a  tendency  to  idealism;  but  if  this  is  true  I  do  not 
know  wdiere  to  look  for  it.  Our  artists  are  painting  land- 
scapes  or  portraits,  or  illustrating  for  the  magazines.  For 
these  are  the  things  that  buy  bread  and  butter,  of  which  artists 
get,  on  an  average,  all  too  little.  But  the  time  is  ripe  for 
another  movement  such  as  the  Pre-Raphaelite  Brotherhood 
started  to  give  to  the  world,  till  it  lost  its  impetus  in  affectation 
and  conspicuous  lack  of  that  very  simplicity  which  was  its 
original  end  and  aim.  If  the  American  painters  of  to-day  can 
forget  for  a  time  their  necessary  pot-boilers,  and  paint  for  us 


THE    BETRAYAL — (hEBERT) 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


547 


new  and  strong  pictures  of  the  ideal  Christ,  they  will  not  lack 
an  audience,  and  I  believe  they  will  also  find  purchasers. 

There  still  is  room  for  the  artist  who  would  paint  the  Christ. 
Among  all  the  thousands  of  paintings  of  him,  the  seeker  feels 
a  singular  lack.  There  is  lack,  certainly,  of  proportion.  There 
are  Nativities  enough,  and  Crucifixions  more  than  enough;  and 
it  is  hard  to  say  what  incident  in  the  life  of  Christ  may  not  be 
illustrated  with  a  great  painting.  Yet  there  is  a  real  lack  of 
pictures  that  illustrate  the  mature  life  and  ministry  of  Jesus  in 


Copyright,  1899,  by  Braun  Clement  et  cie. 
THE   MISSION   OF  THE  APOSTLES — ( JOSEPH-AUKERT.    1899) 

a  way  that  appeals  to  the  imagination  of  to-day.  The  world  is 
ready  for  more  great  paintings,  and  even  for  paintings  not 
technically  great,  if  sympathetic,  strong,  and  religious  in  feel- 
ing, which  show  the  Christ  who  lived  among  men,  teaching, 
healing,  helping,  inspiring,  and  creating  in  them  new  hopes, 
aspirations  and  ideals. 

We  have  been  noting  some  differences  between  ancient  and 
modern  art.  These  concern  themselves  chiefly  with  the 
aspects  in  which  Christ  is  presented  and  the  scenes  in  which 
he  is  made  to  appear.     It  is  most  surprising  that  the  paintings 

103 


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JESUS    liEAKlXG    THE    cKOSS — (\V.     A.    BOUGCEREAU) 


104 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


549 


of  different  countries  and  ages  exhibit  so  much  that  is  common 
in  their  Hkeness  of  Christ.  Spite  of  all  their  wide  variety,  there 
fs  enough  common  to  them  all  so  that  one  is  never  in  doubt 
for  a  moment  as  to  the  person  intended  to  represent  the  Christ. 
And,  however  inadequately  he  is  painted,  it  is  seldom  that  the 
artist  has  not  attempted  his  best.  The  Christ  of  art  is  never 
adequate;  but  he  seldom  lacks  attractiveness  or  some  element 
of  grace. 


Copyright,  1903,  by  Braun  Clement  et  cie. 
THE    CRUCIFIXION — ( JOSEPH-AUBERT,     I9O3) 


In  all  great  paintings  that  portray  him,  the  Christ  is  the 
principal,  though  not  always  the  central  figure.  Even  in  the 
crowded  canvases  of  Paul  Veronese,  there  is  no  mistaking  the 
chief  character.  Nor  has  modern  art  been  at  all  disposed  to 
assign  him  any  less  conspicuous  position.  The  light  that 
emanates  from  the  Babe  in  Correggio's  "Holy  Night,"  and 
irradiates  the  face  of  the  mother  and  the  interior  of  the  stable, 
is  the  same  that  in  Merson's  "Repose    of    Egypt"  emanates 

los 


:):»^ 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


from  the  sleeping  infant,  and  tliat  in  Holman  Hunt's  "Light 
of  the  World"  streams  from  the  person  of  the  Saviour  of  men. 
Even  in  the  most  daring  of  modern  paintings  the  Christ  is 
almost  if  not  wholly  unchanged.  \'cry  seldom  does  an  artist 
put  him  into  modern  garb,  or  make  him  other  than  men  have 
supposed  him.  ]\Ien  change,  and  their  costumes  change,  but 
the  unchanging  Christ  stands  among  them,  is  loved  or  scorned, 
accepted  or  rejected,  honored  or  crucified  by  men  and  women 


Copyright,  19U3,  by  Braun  Clement  et  cie. 
THE   RETURN    FROM    CALV.\RY — (  JOSEPH-AUBERT) 


of  to-day.  Even  so  radical  and  modern  a  painter  as  Beraud  has 
not  had  courage,  if  indeed  he  so  desired,  to  create  a  new  ideal 
of  the  Christ;  so  far  as  his  brush  bears  testimony,  it  is  to  the 
unchanging  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever. 

With  such  an  ideal  fixed  in  the  mind  of  artists  and  of  the 
people,  the  Christ  of  art  cannot  well  become  degraded,  nor 
cease  to  display  spirituality  and  sympathy,  whatever  the  figure 
may  lack  in  strength  and  in  the  technique  of  art  itself.     We 

106 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM  551 

have  in  art  and  in  literature  what  we  may  assume  is  a  tolerably 
fixed  ideal. 

Modern  painters  have  not  lowered  this  conception  of  him. 
The  works  of  Hofmann  and  Plockhorst,  of  Munkacsy  and 
Gabriel  Max,  whatever  may  be  said  of  their  enduring;  quality, 
do  not  fail  in  setting  forth  a  gracious,  dignified  and  adorable 
character.  Whatever  their  failings,  we  may  well  be  devoutly 
thankful  for  the  sweet  tenderness  of  Plockhorst's  "Good  Shep- 
herd," and  the  pathos  and    benevolence    of    Gabriel    Max's 


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Copyright,  1903,  Braun  Clement  et  cie. 
ON    THE    WAY    TO   EMMAUS — (gIRARDET,    I903) 

"Great  Physician."  It  is  in  such  themes  as  these  that  modern 
art  has  done  its  best.  Of  Gethsemanes  and  of  Crucifixions 
there  have  been  no  lack  in  medieval  art,  but  if  the  temper  of 
the  present  age  may  be  estimated  by  the  modern  paintings  that 
may  be  called  truly  popular,  it  is  distinctly  humanitarian,  for 
we  shall  find  those  paintings  to  be  in  larger  proportion  than 
those  that  exhibit  him  in  his  teaching,  feeding,  shepherding, 
healing  and  helping,  rather  than  in  those  that  appeal  more  to 
the  love  of  the  mystical,  or  to  the  contemplation  of  his  phys- 
ical sufiferings.     It  cannot  be  denied  that  in  all  this,  art  has 

107 


IIEAII    (IK    I  HKfST  — (  Wlll.TER -3IG(IK.\ 


1 08 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


553 


been  in  close  accord  with  the  progress  of  modern  theology. 

In  all  this,  modern  art  has  exhibited  no  lack  of  fidelity  to 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ,  and  there  is  a  distinct  return  toward 
the  dominant  conception  of  the  early  Church.  In  answer  to 
the  question  wdiat  pictures  of  Christ  are  most  called  for,  the 
manager  of  a  house  that  deals  in  one-cent  half-tone  reproduc- 
tions answered,  that,  as  a  series,  those  of  Hofmann  are  most 
in  demand,  with  "The  Boy  Christ  in  the  Temple"  the  most 


Copyright,  1895,  by  Kraun  Clciiiunt,  et  tie. 
CHRIST    AND    THE    ADULTERESS — (A.    A.    ANDERSON) 

popular;  and  that  among  pictures  of  the  adult  Christ  the  one 
sold  in  largest  numbers  is  Plockhorst's  "Good  Shepherd." 
This  is  a  notable  change  since  the  day  when  Guido  Reni  sent 
forth  his  sorrowful  and  thorn-crowned  "Ecce  Homos"  by  the 
score.  It  reminds  us  at  once  of  Stanley's  declaration  that  the 
religion  of  the  early  Church  "was  in  one  word,  the  religion  of 
the  Good  Shepherd.  The  kindness,  the  courage,  the  beauty, 
the  grace,  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  was  to  them,  if  w^e  may  say 
so,  prayer  book  and  articles,  creed  and    canons,  all    in  one. 

109 


554 


JKSUS    OF    NAZARETH 


They  looked  on  that  figure,  and  it  conveyed  to  them  all  thev 
wanted." 

What  wonder  that  the  face  of  the  Christ  should  l)e  the  per- 
petual challenge  and  the  despair  of  artists?  What  wonder  that 
they  should  have  failed  to  express  all  the  glory  of  him  in  whom 
men  saw  the  life  of  the  Father?  It  could  not  be  otherwise.  If 
the  artist's  best  work  gives  expression    to  one  phase  of    the 


THE   widow's    mite — (hUGO    MIETH,    iSqq) 


beauty  of  his  life,  but  ever  suggests  the  lack  of  something 
which  no  human  brush  can  paint,  it  is  but  what  we  might 
expect.  We  should  need  to  add  together  all  the  elements  of 
dignity  and  beauty  and  sweetness  and  strength  of  all  the  artists, 
and  still  we  should  lack  a  complete  picture  of  him.  The  face 
and  character  of  the  Christ  stand  as  a  perpetual  exhortation. 
The  likeness  of  Christ  ennobles  our  daily  tasks  and  exalts  our 
ideal  of  the  good  and  true  and  beautiful  in  human  life. 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


555 


We  set  out  to  explore  briefly  the  world  of  art  in  an  effort 
to  answer  the  question,  Who  is  the  Christ  whom  the  artists 
have  found  in  popular  thought  and  g'iven  back  a.s;-ain  in  their 
paintings?  Hastily  we  have  looked  at  representative  paintings 
of  the  past  and  the  present,  of  our  own  nation  and  of  other 
nations.     We  have  not  been  satisfied;  we  are  still  seeking  the 


"suffer    little  children    to  come  to  me" — (ruederstein,   1893) 


face  which  we  have  almost  discovered.  But  we  have  found  a 
surprising  consistency,  a  high  ideal,  and  a  face  and  figure 
which,  however  disappointing,  are  never  vulgar  or  uncouth, 
never  base  or  suggestive  of  evil,  but  always  reverent,  sincere 
and  noble. 

I  had  finished  the  manuscript  of  this  book  and  laid  it  away 
to  be  sent  to  the  printer  on  the  following  Monday.     When  I 


556 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


went  to  preach  on  the  intervening  Sunday,  in  another  pulpit 
than  my  own,  I  found  in  the  study  of  the  church  which  I  visited 
a  copy  of  Hofmann's  Christ,  and  it  impressed  me  anew  w^ith  its 
Hfehkeness  and  its  lovableness.  I  could  not  help  asking  myself. 
How  should  I  feel  toward  such  a  man  if  I  were  to  meet  him 
face  to  face?  What  qualities  might  I  expect  to  find  in  the  soul 
behind  such  a  face? 

If  we  should  meet  in  real  life  the  Man  whom  the  painters  have 
seen  and  shown  to  us.  w^ith  form  erect  and  imperial,  but  manner 


"behold,   I   SEND   VOU   FORTH !" — (j.   R.   WEHLE,    igOO) 


and  bearing  gracious  and  kindly,  with  face  compassionate, 
sensitive,  pure  and  sympathetic,  with  eyes  tender,  penetrating 
and  affectionate,  we  should  instantly  be  attracted  to  him.  We 
would  welcome  acquaintance  with  him.  We  would  give  him 
our  confidence.  We  should  be  sure  that  we  could  trust  him. 
We  could  not  think  of  doubting  his  sincerity,  his  purity  of 
soul,  or  the  earnestness  of  his  life.  And  if  we  were  to  know 
him  in  such  various  relations  as  the  painters  show  him.  in 
scenes  of  festivity  and  of  mourning,  among  the  multitude  and 
alone,   among    close    companions  and    in   the    hands   of    his 


AS    ART    REVEALS    HIM 


557 


enemies,  and  always  found  him,  as  the  painters  show  him,  calm, 
o-entle,  and  full  of  all  human  orace  and  loveliness,  we  could  not 


THE    GOOD    SHEPHERD— (PLOCKHORST.     1825 — ) 

help  but  love  him.  How  thankful,  then,  ought  we  to  be,  for 
pictures  that  so  impress  him,  in  every  age  from  infancy  to  the 
grave,  upon  the  imagination  of  little  children  and  of  men  and 

"3 


558 


JESUS    OF    NAZARETH 


women.  To  these  the  Christ  of  art  is  a  veritable,  even  though 
a  partial,  revelation,  of  God's  love  and  o^race  disclosed  in  the 
life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

Nor  can  we  count  the  paintings  as  failures  that  fall  below  our 
ideal.  They  enlarge  and  exalt  the  imagination  even  when  they 
impose  limits  upon  it.  Happily  we  still  have  the  second  com- 
mandment, and  are  forbidden  to  count  any  work  of  art  a 
finality.  We  are  at  liberty  to  love  the  paintings  that  help  us 
and  to  outgrow  them  when  they  fetter  us.  and  ever  to  seek 
for  that  which  exalts  our  conception  of  Jesus.  The  ear  is  not 
the  only  avenue  to  the  soul;  the  eye,  too,  has  its  revelation. 
The  good  spirit  of  God,  by  whom  the  Word  of  life  was  revealed, 
still  accompanies  the  preaching  of  that  Word;  and  the  same 
Spirit  that  gives  wisdom  to  him  who  preaches  gives  grace  to 
him  who  paints  in  an  honest  endeavor  to  make  real  the  Christ 
to  men.  Increasingly  may  men  labor  to  disclose  and  to  dis- 
cern "the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ." 


114 


Date  Due 

II      II    jAiVf 

f) 

